A Perpetual Covenant of Peace

54 “Sing, O abarren,

You who have not borne!

Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,

You who have not labored with child!

For more are the children of the desolate

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

2 “Enlarge bthe place of your tent,

And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;

Do not spare;

Lengthen your cords,

And strengthen your stakes.

3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,

And your descendants will cinherit the nations,

And make the desolate cities inhabited.

4 “Do dnot fear, for you will not be ashamed;

Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;

For you will forget the shame of your youth,

And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

5 eFor your Maker is your husband,

The Lord of hosts is His name;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

He is called fthe God of the whole earth.

6 For the Lord ghas called you

Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,

Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”

Says your God.

7 “For ha mere moment I have forsaken you,

But with great mercies iI will gather you.

8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;

jBut with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”

Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the waters of kNoah to Me;

For as I have sworn

That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,

So have I sworn

That I would not be angry with lyou, nor rebuke you.

10 For mthe mountains shall depart

And the hills be removed,

nBut My kindness shall not depart from you,

Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”

Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

11 “O you afflicted one,

Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,

Behold, I will lay your stones with ocolorful gems,

And lay your foundations with sapphires.

12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,

Your gates of crystal,

And all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your children shall be ptaught by the Lord,

And qgreat shall be the peace of your children.

14 In righteousness you shall be established;

You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;

And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.

Whoever assembles against you shall rfall for your sake.

16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith

Who blows the coals in the fire,

Who brings forth an 1instrument for his work;

And I have created the 2spoiler to destroy.

17 No weapon formed against you shall sprosper,

And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

tAnd their righteousness is from Me,”

Says the Lord.

An Invitation to Abundant Life

55 “Ho! aEveryone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

bCome, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price.

2 Why do you 1spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

3 Incline your ear, and ccome to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

dAnd I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

The esure mercies of David.

4 Indeed I have given him as fa witness to the people,

gA leader and commander for the people.

5 hSurely you shall call a nation you do not know,

iAnd nations who do not know you shall run to you,

Because of the Lord your God,

And the Holy One of Israel;

jFor He has glorified you.”

6 kSeek the Lord while He may be lfound,

Call upon Him while He is near.

7 mLet the 2wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man nhis thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

oAnd He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For pMy thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For qas the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 “For ras the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

11 sSo shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me 3void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall tprosper in the thing for which I sent it.

12 “For uyou shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall vbreak forth into singing before you,

And wall the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 xInstead of ythe thorn shall come up the cypress tree,

And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;

And it shall be to the Lord zfor a name,

For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Salvation for the Gentiles

56 Thus says the Lord:

“Keep justice, and do righteousness,

aFor My salvation is about to come,

And My righteousness to be revealed.

2 Blessed is the man who does this,

And the son of man who lays hold on it;

bWho keeps from defiling the Sabbath,

And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

3 Do not let cthe son of the foreigner

Who has joined himself to the Lord

Speak, saying,

“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;

Nor let the deunuch say,

“Here I am, a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord:

“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,

And choose what pleases Me,

And hold fast My covenant,

5 Even to them I will give in eMy house

And within My walls a place fand a name

Better than that of sons and daughters;

I will give 1them an everlasting name

That shall not be cut off.

6 “Also the sons of the foreigner

Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,

And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—

Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,

And holds fast My covenant—

7 Even them I will gbring to My holy mountain,

And make them joyful in My hhouse of prayer.

iTheir burnt offerings and their sacrifices

Will be jaccepted on My altar;

For kMy house shall be called a house of prayer lfor all nations.”

8 The Lord God, mwho gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,

n“Yet I will gather to him

Others besides those who are gathered to him.”