The Prophets · Old Testament

Isaiah 54

Isaiah 54: the barren woman told to sing and enlarge her tent

General context

A barren woman who never bore or travailed is told to sing, because the desolate woman has more children than the married wife. She must enlarge her tent, stretch its curtains, lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes, since she will spread out on both sides and her seed will inherit the Gentiles and settle desolate cities. She is told not to fear; she will forget the shame of her youth and the reproach of her widowhood, because her Maker is her husband, the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth. The Lord says he called her as a forsaken and grieved woman, a wife of youth who was refused. He forsook her for a small moment and hid his face in a little wrath, but will gather her with great mercies and everlasting kindness. He compares his oath to the waters of Noah: as he swore those waters would not cover the earth again, so he swears not to be angry with her or rebuke her. Mountains may depart, but his kindness and covenant of peace will not. To the afflicted woman tossed with tempest he promises stones laid with fair colours, foundations of sapphires, windows of agates, gates of carbuncles and borders of pleasant stones. Her children will all be taught of the Lord and have great peace. She will be established in righteousness, far from oppression and terror. Any who gather against her do so without him and will fall; he created both the smith who forges weapons and the waster who destroys, and no weapon formed against her will prosper. Every accusing tongue she will condemn, and this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.

Cited passages: Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah 54:2, Isaiah 54:3, Isaiah 54:4, Isaiah 54:5, Isaiah 54:6, Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah 54:8, Isaiah 54:9, Isaiah 54:10, Isaiah 54:11, Isaiah 54:12, Isaiah 54:13, Isaiah 54:14, Isaiah 54:15, Isaiah 54:16, Isaiah 54:17

Isaiah 54 (KJV)

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.

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Historical context

The woman addressed is never named in this chapter. She is called barren, desolate, forsaken, a wife of youth, a widow, afflicted and tossed with tempest, and she is given a tent, stones, foundations, windows, gates, borders and children, but the words Zion and Jerusalem do not occur here; the surrounding chapters address Zion and Jerusalem as a woman and mother, and the reader supplies the connection. Noah is the one person named, and only through the waters of Noah, which the Lord recalls as the object of an earlier oath. The Lord states that he did forsake her and hide his face in wrath, describing that as a small moment; the affliction is not denied, only bounded. The chapter closes with the servants of the Lord in the plural, where the two previous chapters spoke of a single servant, and the text does not explain the shift. Two later New Testament passages quote this chapter: Galatians cites the opening call to the barren woman as it is written, and John reports the saying that they shall be all taught of God as written in the prophets. The smith and the waster are stated to be the Lord's creations, and the chapter names no enemy nation.

Cited passages: Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah 54:6, Isaiah 54:11, Isaiah 52:2, Isaiah 51:18, Isaiah 54:9, Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah 54:8, Isaiah 54:17, Isaiah 53:11, Galatians 4:27, John 6:45, Isaiah 54:13, Isaiah 54:16

Literary context

The chapter turns on scale. The Lord sets small against great, a small moment of forsaking against great mercies, a little wrath against everlasting kindness, and a moment against a covenant that outlasts mountains. The opening command is an inversion: the barren is told to sing because the desolate has more children, and the practical instructions that follow, cords, curtains, stakes, treat the crowd of children as already arriving. Her past is named in order to be dismissed, the shame of thy youth and the reproach of thy widowhood, and the reason given is a change of relation: thy Maker is thine husband. The oath is anchored to Noah's flood, so that a promise not to be angry is placed beside a promise not to drown the world. The building verses list precious stones piece by piece, from foundations up to borders, and the security verses list threats piece by piece, oppression, terror, gatherings, weapons, tongues, each with a denial. The chapter follows the silent sufferer of chapter 53 with a woman commanded to cry aloud, and ends by turning from one servant to the servants of the Lord.

Cited passages: Isaiah 54:7, Isaiah 54:8, Isaiah 54:10, Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah 54:2, Isaiah 54:4, Isaiah 54:5, Isaiah 54:9, Isaiah 54:11, Isaiah 54:14, Isaiah 54:17, Isaiah 53:7

Key moments

The barren woman told to sing (Isaiah 54:1). The Lord tells the childless woman to sing because the desolate has more children than the married wife.
Enlarge the tent (Isaiah 54:2). She is told to stretch her curtains, lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes.
Thy Maker is thine husband (Isaiah 54:5). The Lord names himself her husband, Redeemer and the God of the whole earth.
A small moment, great mercies (Isaiah 54:7). The Lord says he forsook her briefly but will gather her with great mercies.
Sworn like the waters of Noah (Isaiah 54:9). The Lord compares his oath not to be angry with her to his oath after the flood.
Foundations of sapphires (Isaiah 54:11). The afflicted woman is promised foundations, windows, gates and borders of precious stones.
No weapon shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). The Lord declares that no weapon formed against her will succeed, as the heritage of his servants.

For reflection

The woman is told to lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes before any child has arrived. What would it mean to make room for something promised but not yet visible, and what does that cost if the promise is slow?