Isaiah 54–55

Jerusalem Will Be Glorious

54“Jerusalem, sing!

You are now like a woman who never had a child.

Burst into song! Shout with joy!

You who have never had labor pains,

you are now all alone.

But you will have more children than a woman who still has a husband,”

says the Lord.

²“Make a large area for your tent.

Spread out its curtains.

Go ahead and make your tent wider.

Make its ropes longer.

Drive the stakes down deeper.

³You will spread out to the right and the left.

Your children after you will drive out the nations that are now living in your land.

They will settle down in the deserted cities of those nations.

⁴“Do not be afraid. You will not be put to shame anymore.

Do not be afraid of being dishonored.

People will no longer make fun of you.

You will forget the time when you suffered as slaves in Egypt.

You will no longer remember the shame

of being a widow in Babylonia.

⁵I made you. I am now your husband.

My name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.

I am the Holy One of Israel.

I have set you free.

I am the God of the whole earth.

⁶You were like a wife who was deserted.

And her heart was broken.

You were like a wife who married young.

And her husband sent her away.

But now I am calling you to come back,” says your God.

⁷“For a brief moment I left you.

But because I love you so much, I will bring you back.

⁸For a moment I turned my face away from you.

I was very angry with you.

But I will show you my loving concern.

My faithful love will continue forever,”

says the Lord. He is the one who set you free.

⁹“During Noah’s time I took an oath and made a promise.

I said I would never cover the earth with water again.

In the same way, I have promised not to be angry with you.

I will never punish you again.

¹⁰The mountains might shake.

The hills might be removed.

But my faithful love for you will never be shaken.

And my covenant that promises peace to you will never be broken,”

says the Lord. He shows you his loving concern.

¹¹“Suffering city, you have been beaten by storms.

You have not been comforted.

I will rebuild you with turquoise stones.

I will rebuild your foundations with sapphires.

¹²I will line the top of your city wall with rubies.

I will make your gates out of gleaming jewels.

And I will make all of your walls out of precious stones.

¹³I will teach all of your children.

And they will enjoy great peace.

¹⁴When you do what is right,

you will be made secure.

Your leaders will not be mean to you.

You will not have anything to be afraid of.

You will not be terrified anymore.

Terror will not come near you.

¹⁵People might attack you. But I will not be the cause of it.

Those who attack you will give themselves up to you.

¹⁶“I created blacksmiths.

They fan the coals into flames of fire.

They make weapons that are fit for their work.

I also created those who destroy others.

¹⁷But no weapon that is used against you will succeed.

People might bring charges against you.

But you will prove that they are wrong.

Those are the things I do for my servants.

I make everything right for them,”

announces the Lord.

The Lord Invites His People to Come to Him

55“Come, all of you who are thirsty.

Come and drink the water I offer to you.

You who do not have any money, come.

Buy and eat the grain I give you.

Come and buy wine and milk.

You will not have to pay anything for it.

²Why spend money on what is not food?

Why work for what does not satisfy you?

Listen carefully to me.

Then you will eat what is good.

You will enjoy the richest food there is.

³Listen and come to me.

Pay attention to me.

Then you will live.

I will make a covenant with you that will last forever.

I will give you my faithful love.

I promised it to David.

⁴I made him a witness to the nations.

He became a leader and commander over them.

⁵You too will send for nations you do not know.

Even though they do not know you,

they will hurry and come to you.

That is what I will do. I am the Lord your God.

I am the Holy One of Israel.

I have honored you.”

⁶Turn to the Lord before it’s too late.

Call out to him while he’s still ready to help you.

⁷Let the one who is evil stop doing evil things.

And let him quit thinking evil thoughts.

Let him turn to the Lord.

The Lord will show him his tender love.

Let him turn to our God.

He is always ready to forgive.

⁸“My thoughts are not like your thoughts.

And your ways are not like my ways,”

announces the Lord.

⁹“The heavens are higher than the earth.

And my ways are higher than your ways.

My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

¹⁰The rain and the snow

come down from the sky.

They do not return to it

without watering the earth.

They make plants come up and grow.

The plants produce seeds for farmers.

They also produce food for people to eat.

¹¹The words I speak are like that.

They will not return to me without producing results.

They will accomplish what I want them to.

They will do exactly what I sent them to do.

¹²“My people, you will leave Babylonia with joy.

You will be led out of it in peace.

The mountains and hills

will burst into song as you go.

And all of the trees in the fields

will clap their hands.

¹³Pine trees will grow where there used to be bushes that had thorns on them.

And myrtle trees will grow where there used to be thorns.

That will bring me great fame.

It will be a lasting reminder of what I can do.

It will not be forgotten.”