Isaiah 54–55

Chapter 54

The Fertility of Zion

¹“^aShout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;

Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;

For the sons of the ^bdesolate one will be ^cmore numerous

Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.

²“^aEnlarge the place of your tent;

¹Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;

Lengthen your ^bcords

And strengthen your pegs.

³“For you will ^aspread abroad to the right and to the left.

And your ¹descendants will ^bpossess nations

And will ^cresettle the desolate cities.

⁴“Fear not, for you will ^anot be put to shame;

And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;

But you will forget the ^bshame of your youth,

And the ^creproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

⁵“For your ^ahusband is your Maker,

Whose name is the Lord of hosts;

And your ^bRedeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the ^cGod of all the earth.

⁶“For the Lord has called you,

Like a wife ^aforsaken and grieved in spirit,

Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”

Says your God.

⁷“¹For a ^abrief moment I forsook you,

But with great compassion I will ^bgather you.

⁸“In an ^1aoutburst of anger

I hid My face from you for a moment,

But with everlasting ^blovingkindness I will ^chave compassion on you,”

Says the Lord your ^dRedeemer.

⁹“For ¹this is like the days of Noah to Me,

When I swore that the waters of Noah

Would ^anot ²flood the earth again;

So I have sworn that I will ^bnot be angry with you

Nor will I rebuke you.

¹⁰“For the ^amountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

And My ^bcovenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says ^cthe Lord who has compassion on you.

¹¹“O ^aafflicted one, storm-tossed, and ^bnot comforted,

Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will ^clay in ^1dsapphires.

¹²“Moreover, I will make your battlements of ¹rubies,

And your gates of ²crystal,

And your entire ³wall of precious stones.

¹³“^aAll your sons will be ¹taught of the Lord;

And the well-being of your sons will be ^bgreat.

¹⁴“In ^arighteousness you will be established;

You will be far from ^boppression, for you will ^cnot fear;

And from ^dterror, for it will not come near you.

¹⁵“If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.

^aWhoever assails you will fall because of you.

¹⁶“Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

¹⁷“^aNo weapon that is formed against you will prosper;

And ^bevery tongue that ¹accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

And their ^cvindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.

Chapter 55

The Free Offer of Mercy

¹“Ho! Every one who ^athirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have ^bno ¹money come, buy and eat.

Come, buy ^cwine and milk

^dWithout money and without cost.

²“Why do you ¹spend money for what is ^anot bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and ^beat what is good,

And ^cdelight yourself in abundance.

³“^aIncline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that ¹you may ^blive;

And I will make ^can everlasting covenant with you,

According to the ^dfaithful mercies ²shown to David.

⁴“Behold, I have made ^ahim a witness to the peoples,

A ^bleader and commander for the peoples.

⁵“Behold, you will call a ^anation you do not know,

And a nation which knows you not will ^brun to you,

Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;

For He has ^cglorified you.”

^6aSeek the Lord while He may be found;

^bCall upon Him while He is near.

^7aLet the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his ^bthoughts;

And let him ^creturn to the Lord,

And He will have ^dcompassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will ^eabundantly pardon.

⁸“For My thoughts are not ^ayour thoughts,

Nor are ^byour ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

⁹“For ^aas the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰“For as the ^arain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing ^bseed to the sower and bread to the eater;

¹¹So will My ^aword be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will ^bnot return to Me empty,

Without ^caccomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

¹²“For you will go out with ^ajoy

And be led forth with ^bpeace;

The ^cmountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the ^dtrees of the field will clap their hands.

¹³“Instead of the ^athorn bush the ^bcypress will come up,

And instead of the ^cnettle the myrtle will come up,

And ¹it will be a ^2dmemorial to the Lord,

For an everlasting ^esign which ^fwill not be cut off.”