Isaiah 54

¹ Shout for joy, barren one who has borne no children! Break into cries and shouts of joy, you who werenever in labour! For the children of the forsaken one are more in number than the children of the wedded wife,says Yahweh.

² Widen the space of your tent, extend the curtains of your home, do not hold back! Lengthen your ropes,make your tent-pegs firm,

³ for you wil burst out to right and to left, your race wil dispossess the nations and repopulate desertedtowns.

⁴ Do not fear, you wil not be put to shame again, do not worry, you will not be disgraced again; for youwil forget the shame of your youth and no longer remember the dishonour of your widowhood.

⁵ For your Creator is your husband, Yahweh Sabaoth is his name, the Holy One of Israel is yourredeemer, he is cal ed God of the whole world.

⁶ Yes, Yahweh has cal ed you back like a forsaken, grief-stricken wife, like the repudiated wife of hisyouth, says your God.

⁷ I did forsake you for a brief moment, but in great compassion I shal take you back.

⁸ In a flood of anger, for a moment I hid my face from you. But in everlasting love I have taken pity onyou, says Yahweh, your redeemer.

⁹ For me it wil be as in the days of Noah when I swore that Noah's waters should never flood the worldagain. So now I swear never to be angry with you and never to rebuke you again.

¹⁰ For the mountains may go away and the hil s may totter, but my faithful love wil never leave you, mycovenant of peace will never totter, says Yahweh who takes pity on you.

¹¹ Unhappy creature, storm-tossed, unpitied, look, I shal lay your stones on agates and your foundationson sapphires.

¹² I shal make your battlements rubies, your gateways firestone and your entire wal precious stones.

¹³ Al your children wil be taught by Yahweh and great wil be your children's prosperity.

¹⁴ In saving justice you will be made firm, free from oppression: you will have nothing to fear; free fromterror: it wil not approach you.

¹⁵ Should anyone attack you, that wil not be my doing, and whoever does attack you, for your sake willfal .

¹⁶ I created the smith who blows on the charcoal-fire to produce a weapon for his use; I also created thedestroyer to ruin it.

¹⁷ No weapon forged against you wil succeed. Any voice raised against you in court you will refute.Such is the lot of the servants of Yahweh, the saving justice I assure them, declares Yahweh.