Isaiah 54-58

Contemporary English Version

⁴ Don't be afraid or ashamed
and don't be discouraged.
    You won't be disappointed.
Forget how sinful you were
    when you were young;
stop feeling ashamed
    for being left a widow.
⁵ The Lord All-Powerful,
the Holy God of Israel,
    rules all the earth.
He is your Creator and husband,
    and he will rescue you.

⁶ You were like a young wife,
    brokenhearted and crying
because her husband
    had divorced her.
But the Lord your God says,
    “I am taking you back!
⁷ I rejected you for a while,
but with love and tenderness
    I will embrace you again.
⁸ For a while, I turned away
    in furious anger.
Now I will have mercy
    and love you forever!
I, your protector and Lord,
    make this promise.”

¹⁴ You will be built on fairness
    with no fears of injustice;
every one of your worries
    will be taken far from you.
¹⁵ I will never send anyone
    to attack your city,
and you will make prisoners
    of those who do attack.
¹⁶ Don't forget that I created
metalworkers who make weapons
    over burning coals.
I also created armies
    that can bring destruction.
¹⁷ Weapons made to attack you
    won't be successful;
words spoken against you
    won't hurt at all.

My servants, Jerusalem is yours!
I, the Lord, promise
    to bless you with victory.

^3 (I) Pay close attention!
    Come to me and live.
I will promise you
the eternal love and loyalty
    that I promised David.
⁴ I made him the leader and ruler
of the nations;
    he was my witness to them.
⁵ You will call out to nations
    you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running
    because I am the Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
    and I have honored you.

⁸ The Lord says:
“My thoughts and my ways
    are not like yours.
⁹ Just as the heavens
    are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
    are higher than yours.

^10 (J) “Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don't return
    without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant
    and grain to eat.
¹¹ That's how it is with my words.
    They don't return to me
without doing everything
    I send them to do.”

² I will bless everyone
who respects the Sabbath
    and refuses to do wrong.

³ Foreigners who worship me
    must not say,
“The Lord won't let us
    be part of his people.”
Men who are unable
    to become fathers
must no longer say,
    “We are dried-up trees.”

^4 (K) To them, I, the Lord, say:
    Respect the Sabbath,
    obey me completely,
    and keep our agreement.
⁵ Then you will be like monuments
in my temple with your names
    written on them.
This will be much better
    than having children,
because these monuments
    will stand there forever.

⁶ Foreigners will follow me.
They will love me and worship
    in my name;
they will respect the Sabbath
    and keep our agreement.
^7 (L) I will bring them
    to my holy mountain,
where they will celebrate
    in my house of worship.
Their sacrifices and offerings
will always be welcome
    on my altar.
Then my house will be known
as a house of worship
    for all nations.
⁸ I, the Lord, promise
to bring together my people
    who were taken away,
and let them join the others.

⁵ All you think about is sex
under those green trees
    where idols are worshiped.
You sacrifice your children
on altars built in valleys
    under rocky slopes.
⁶ You have chosen to worship
    idols made of stone;^[d]
you have given them offerings
of wine and grain.
    Should I be pleased?

⁷ You have spread out your beds
on the tops of high mountains,
    where you sacrifice to idols.
⁸ Even in your homes
you have placed pagan symbols
    all around your huge beds.
Yes, you have rejected me,
sold yourselves to your lovers,
    and gone to bed with them.^[e]

⁹ You smear on olive oil
and all kinds of perfume
    to worship the god Molech.^[f]
You even seek advice
    from spirits of the dead.
¹⁰ Though you tired yourself out
by running after idols,
    you refused to stop.
Your desires were so strong
    that they kept you going.

¹¹ Did you forget about me
    and become unfaithful
because you were more afraid
    of someone else?
Have I been silent so long^[g]
    that you no longer fear me?
¹² You think you're so good,
    but I'll point out the truth.
¹³ Ask your idols to save you
    when you are in trouble.
Be careful though—
it takes only a faint breath
    to blow them over.
But if you come to me
    for protection,
this land and my holy mountain
    will always belong to you.

^15 (M) Our holy God lives forever
in the highest heavens,
    and this is what he says:
Though I live high above
    in the holy place,
I am here to help those
who are humble
    and depend only on me.

¹⁶ My people, I won't stay angry
    and keep on accusing you.
After all, I am your Creator.
I don't want you to give up
    in complete despair.
¹⁷ Your greed made me furious.
That's why I punished you
    and refused to be found,
while you kept returning
    to your old sinful ways.

¹⁸ I know what you are like!
But I will heal you, lead you,
    and give you comfort,
until those who are mourning
^{19     (N)} start singing my praises.^[h]
No matter where you are,
I, the Lord, will heal you^[i]
    and give you peace.

²⁰ The wicked are a restless sea
    tossing up mud.
^21 (O) But I, the Lord, have promised
that none who are evil
    will live in peace.

³ You wonder why the Lord
    pays no attention
when you go without eating
    and act humble.
But on those same days
    that you give up eating,
you think only of yourselves^[j]
    and abuse your workers.
⁴ You even get angry
    and ready to fight.
No wonder God won't listen
    to your prayers!

⁵ Do you think the Lord
    wants you to give up eating
and to act as humble
    as a bent-over bush?
Or to dress in sackcloth
    and sit in ashes?
Is this really what he wants
    on a day of worship?

⁶ I'll tell you
what it really means
    to worship the Lord.
Remove the chains of prisoners
    who are bound unjustly.
Free those who are abused!
^7 (P) Share your food with everyone
    who is hungry;
share your home
    with the poor and homeless.
Give clothes to those in need;
don't turn away your relatives.

⁸ Then your light will shine
like the dawning sun, and you
    will quickly be healed.
Your honesty^[k] will protect you
    as you advance,
and the glory of the Lord
    will defend you from behind.
⁹ When you beg the Lord for help,
    he will answer, “Here I am!”

Don't mistreat others
or falsely accuse them
    or say something cruel.
¹⁰ Give your food to the hungry
    and care for the homeless.
Then your light will shine
    in the dark;
your darkest hour will be
    like the noonday sun.

¹¹ The Lord will always guide you
and provide good things to eat
    when you are in the desert.
He will make you healthy.
You will be like a garden
    that has plenty of water
or like a stream
    that never runs dry.
¹² You will rebuild those houses
    left in ruins for years;
you will be known
as a builder and repairer
    of city walls and streets.

¹³ But first, you must start
respecting the Sabbath
    as a joyful day of worship.
You must stop doing and saying
whatever you please
    on this special day.
¹⁴ Then you will truly enjoy
    knowing the Lord.
He will let you rule
    from the highest mountains
and bless you with the land
of your ancestor Jacob.
    The Lord has spoken!