The Inheritance of the Slaves of Yahweh

¹“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who has not given birth;

Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;

For more numerous are the sons of the desolate one

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

²“Enlarge the place of your tent;

Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back;

Lengthen your cords

And strengthen your pegs.

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

And your seed will possess nations

And will resettle the desolate cities.

⁴¶“Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;

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

But you will forget the shame of your virginity,

And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

⁵“For your husband is your Maker,

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the God of all the earth.

⁶“For Yahweh has called you,

Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

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

Says your God.

⁷“For a brief moment I forsook you,[#54:7 Lit In]

But with great compassion I will gather you.

⁸“In a flood of fury[#54:8 Lit an overflowing]

I hid My face from you for a moment,

But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”

Says Yahweh your Redeemer.

⁹¶“For this is like the days of Noah to Me,[#54:9 Some mss the waters of Noah this is to Me]

When I swore that the waters of Noah

Would not overflow the earth again;

So I have sworn that I will not be furious with you

Nor will I rebuke you.

¹⁰“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says Yahweh who has compassion on you.

¹¹¶“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,

Behold, I will lay your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will set in sapphires.

¹²“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,[#54:12 Bright red]

And your gates of crystal,

And your entire wall of precious stones.

¹³“All your sons will be taught of Yahweh;[#54:13 Or disciples]

And the peace of your sons will be great.

¹⁴“In righteousness you will be established;

You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear,

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

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

Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.

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

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the bringer of ruin to wreak destruction.

¹⁷“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;

And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the inheritance of the slaves of Yahweh,

And their righteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.