People Will Return to Jerusalem

54 The Lord says, “Sing, Jerusalem.

You are like a woman who never gave birth to children.

Start singing and shout for joy.

You never felt the pain of giving birth,

but you will have more children

than the woman who has a husband.

2  Make your tent bigger;

stretch it out and make it wider.

Do not hold back.

Make the ropes longer

and its stakes stronger,

3  because you will spread out to the right and to the left.

Your children will take over other nations,

and they will again live in cities that once were destroyed.

4  “Don’t be afraid, because you will not be ashamed.

Don’t be embarrassed, because you will not be disgraced.

You will forget the shame you felt earlier;

you will not remember the shame you felt when you lost your husband.

5  The God who made you is like your husband.

His name is the Lord All-Powerful.

The Holy One of Israel is the one who saves you.

He is called the God of all the earth.

6  You were like a woman whose husband left her,

and you were very sad.

You were like a wife who married young

and then her husband left her.

But the Lord called you to be his,”

says your God.

7  God says, “I left you for a short time,

but with great kindness I will bring you back again.

8  I became very angry

and hid from you for a time,

but I will show you mercy with kindness forever,”

says the Lord who saves you.

9  The Lord says, “This day is like the time of Noah to me.

I promised then that I would never flood the world again.

In the same way, I promise I will not be angry with you

or punish you again.

10  The mountains may disappear,

and the hills may come to an end,

but my love will never disappear;

my promise of peace will not come to an end,”

says the Lord who shows mercy to you.

11  “You poor city. Storms have hurt you,

and you have not been comforted.

But I will rebuild you with turquoise stones,

and I will build your foundations with sapphires.

12  I will use rubies to build your walls

and shining jewels for the gates

and precious jewels for all your outer walls.

13  All your children will be taught by the Lord,

and they will have much peace.

14  I will build you using fairness.

You will be safe from those who would hurt you,

so you will have nothing to fear.

Nothing will come to make you afraid.

15  I will not send anyone to attack you,

and you will defeat those who do attack you.

16  “See, I made the blacksmith.

He fans the fire to make it hotter,

and he makes the kind of tool he wants.

In the same way I have made the destroyer to destroy.

17  So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you.

You will show that those who speak against you are wrong.

These are the good things my servants receive.

Their victory comes from me,” says the Lord.