✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Isaiah 54

KJV · Chapter 54/66

1Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

2Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

3For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

5For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

6For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

7For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God comforts Zion with the image of a barren woman who will now have more children than the married woman, promising that her 'husband' is the Creator himself. He promises an eternal, unshakable covenant of peace, and that no weapon formed against her will prosper.

Explanation

The image of the "barren woman" who will become fruitful revisits the theme of Sarah (chapter 51) and represents Jerusalem/Israel, seemingly hopeless for the future after the exile, yet promised an abundant restoration. Comparing God to a faithful "husband" who brings back a temporarily forsaken wife uses marriage language common among the prophets (also found in Hosea) to describe the covenant between God and his people. The promise "no weapon formed against thee shall prosper" has become one of the most quoted verses about divine protection in times of hardship or persecution. The practical application today is that situations that seem utterly hopeless (like barrenness in ancient culture) can be completely reversed by God's grace.

Fun facts

  • The promise of a "covenant of peace" that "shall not be removed" (v.10) echoes the covenant made with Noah after the flood, mentioned explicitly in the same verse as a reference point for a permanent, unconditional divine promise.
  • The verse "no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (v.17) has become one of the most popularly used biblical texts as a declaration of spiritual protection, appearing on posters, stickers, and in contemporary sermons.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 54:1Comparing ravaged, empty Jerusalem to a childless woman is the reversal of fortune that opens this chapter: even after decades of emptiness, she will have more inhabitants than before her destruction. It’s the same pattern of total reversal that shows up in several feminine images throughout the book to describe restoration.
  2. Isaiah 54:2Enlarging the tent and stretching out the cords is practical nomad instruction for someone preparing to receive far more people than fit before — an image of population growth that the destroyed city had no way of imagining.
  3. Isaiah 54:3Overflowing “on the right hand and on the left” describes expansion in every direction, and the promise that her descendants will possess nations and resettle desolate cities greatly expands the expectation of restoration.
  4. Isaiah 54:4“The shame of thy youth” and “the reproach of thy widowhood” return to the image of Jerusalem as a woman, recalling difficult periods of the past — probably slavery in Egypt and the loss of a husband represented by the exile.
  5. Isaiah 54:5Calling the Creator “husband” continues the chapter’s marriage metaphor, and the title “The God of the whole earth” expands this same God’s identity beyond an exclusive relationship with Israel.
  6. Isaiah 54:6Comparing Jerusalem to a forsaken, grieving wife who is still “a wife of youth” suggests that despite the rejection she suffered, the original bond remains valid in God’s eyes.
  7. Isaiah 54:7“For a small moment” describes the exile as something temporary, even though it lasted decades in people’s real experience — a deliberate contrast with the promise of “great mercies” that follows.
  8. Isaiah 54:8“Little wrath” against “everlasting kindness” sums up the whole chapter’s argument: the period of distance was brief, compared to the permanent duration promised for the new season of compassion.
  9. Isaiah 54:9The memory of Noah’s waters recalls the post-flood promise never again to destroy the earth with water. It’s used here as a guarantee: just as that oath was never broken, the promise not to abandon the people anymore will also last.
  10. Isaiah 54:10Comparing God’s faithfulness to something more stable than the mountains themselves reinforces the idea of an unbreakable covenant, even against phenomena that seemed permanent in that era’s worldview.
  11. Isaiah 54:11The descriptions of sapphire foundations and ruby gates paint a rebuilt Jerusalem with luxury materials she never actually had. It isn’t a literal architectural plan — it’s the richest language that era’s poetry had to describe complete restoration.
  12. Isaiah 54:12Windows of crystal, gates of rubies, and walls of precious stones describe a rebuilt Jerusalem with luxury materials she never actually had: it isn’t a literal architectural plan, it’s the richest form that poetry had to describe complete restoration.
  13. Isaiah 54:13“Taught of the Lord” promises that the next generation will grow up already instructed in the faith, and the abundant peace promised to the children contrasts with the instability their parents lived through during the exile.
  14. Isaiah 54:14“In righteousness shalt thou be established” ties the city’s future security to righteous conduct, and the promise of freedom from oppression and terror reinforces the definitive end of the kind of fear experienced during captivity.
  15. Isaiah 54:15Acknowledging that adversaries will still gather against the city, but “not by me” — that is, without God’s backing — guarantees that any future attack is doomed to fail for lack of real strength.
  16. Isaiah 54:16Saying that God Himself created both the smith and the destroyer is a way of affirming total control over every force capable of causing harm, whether weapons that are made or the people who wield them.
  17. Isaiah 54:17“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” sums up the promise of protection against any physical or verbal attack, and “the heritage of the servants of the Lord” names this protection as something guaranteed specifically to those who serve this God.

Chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play