54

A Perpetual Covenant of Peace

  1“Sing, O barren,
   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 the place of your tent,
   And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
   Do not spare;
   Lengthen your cords,
   And strengthen your stakes.
   3For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
   And your descendants will inherit the nations,
   And make the desolate cities inhabited.
  4“Do not 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.
   5For your Maker is your husband,
   The Lord of hosts is His name;
   And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
   He is called the God of the whole earth.
   6For the Lordhas called you
   Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
   Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
   Says your God.
   7“For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
   But with great mercies I will gather you.
   8With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
   But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
   Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
  9“For this is like the waters of Noah 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 you, nor rebuke you.
   10For the mountains shall depart
   And the hills be removed,
   But 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 colorful gems,
   And lay your foundations with sapphires.
   12I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
   Your gates of crystal,
   And all your walls of precious stones.
   13All your children shall betaught by the Lord,
   And great shall be the peace of your children.
   14In 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.
   15Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
   Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
  16“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
   Who blows the coals in the fire,
   Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
   And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
   17No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
   And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
   You shall condemn.
   This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
   And their righteousness is from Me,”
   Says the Lord.