FUTURE GLORY FOR ISRAEL

54 “Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;

burst into song and shout,

you who have not been in labor!n

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than the children of the married woman,”o

says the Lord.

2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,

and let your tent curtains be stretched out;p

do not hold back;

lengthen your ropes,

and drive your pegs deep.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,q

and your descendants will dispossess nations

and inhabit the desolate cities.

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

don’t be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.

For you will forget the shame of your youth,

and you will no longer remember

the disgrace of your widowhood.s

5 Indeed, your husband is your Makert—

his name is the Lord of Armies—

and the Holy One of Israelu is your Redeemer;v

he is called the God of the whole earth.

6 For the Lord has called you,

like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,w

a wife of one’s youthx when she is rejected,”

says your God.

7 “I deserted you for a brief moment,y

but I will take you back with abundant compassion.

8 In a surge of anger

I hid my facez from you for a moment,

but I will have compassion on you

with everlasting love,”aa

says the Lord your Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the daysA of Noah to me:

when I swore that the water of Noah

would never flood the earth again,ab

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you

or rebuke you.ac

10 Though the mountains move

and the hills shake,

my love will not be removed from you

and my covenant of peacead will not be shaken,”

says your compassionate Lord.

11 “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,

I will set your stones in black mortar,B

and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli.ae

12 I will make your fortifications* out of rubies,

your gates out of sparkling stones,

and all your walls out of precious stones.

13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,a

their prosperity will be great,

14 and you will be established

on a foundation of righteousness.

You will be far from oppression,

you will certainly not be afraid;

you will be far from terror,

it will certainly not come near you.

15 If anyone attacks you,

it is not from me;

whoever attacks you

will fall before you.

16 Look, I have created the craftsman

who blows on the charcoal fire

and produces a weapon suitable for its task;

and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.

17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,

and you will refute any accusationD

raised against you in court.

This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,b

and their vindication is from me.”c

This is the Lord’s declaration.

COME TO THE LORD

55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,d

come to the water;

and you without silver,

come, buy, and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without silver and without cost!

2 Why do you spend silver on what is not food,

and your wages on what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.A

3 Pay attention and come to me;

listen, so that you will live.

I will make a permanent covenant with youe

on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.B,f

4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,g

a leader and commander for the peoples,h

5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,i

and nations who do not know you will run to you.j

For the Lord your God,

even the Holy One of Israel,k

has glorified you.”l

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call to him while he is near.m

7 Let the wicked one abandon his way

and the sinful one his thoughts;n

let him return to the Lord,

so he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will freely forgive.o

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,p

so my ways are higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven

and do not return there

without saturating the earth

and making it germinate and sprout,

and providing seed to sow

and food to eat,q

11 so my word that comes from my mouth

will not return to me empty,

but it will accomplish what I please

and will prosper in what I send it to do.”r

12 You will indeed go out with joy

and be peacefully guided;

the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.s

13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,

and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;t

this will stand as a monument for the Lord,u

an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL

56 This is what the Lord says:

Preserve justice and do what is right,a

for my salvation is coming soon,

and my righteousness will be revealed.b

2 Happy is the person who does this,

the son of man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.c

3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord

should say,

“The Lord will exclude me from his people,”d

and the eunuch should not say,

“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”e

4 For the Lord says this:

“For the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

and choose what pleases me,

and hold firmly to my covenant,

5 I will give them, in my house and within my walls,

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters.

I will give each of them an everlasting name

that will never be cut off.f

6 As for the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to become his servants—

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold firmly to my covenant—

7 I will bring them to my holy mountaing

and let them rejoice in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be acceptable on my altar,h

for my house will be called a house of prayer

for all nations.”i

8 This is the declaration of the Lord God,

who gathers the dispersed of Israel:

“I will gather to them still others

besides those already gathered.”j

UNRIGHTEOUS LEADERS CONDEMNED

9 All you animals of the field and forest,

come and eat!

10 Israel’sA watchmen* are blind, all of them,

they know nothing;

all of them are mute dogs,

they cannot bark;

they dream, lie down,

and love to sleep.

11 These dogs have fierce appetites;

they never have enough.

And they are shepherds

who have no discernment;

all of them turn to their own way,

every last one for his own profit.k

12 “Come, let me get some wine,

let’s guzzle some beer;

and tomorrow will be like today,

only far better!”l