The Fertility of Zion

1 “Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
          Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
          For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
          Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD.

2 “Enlarge the place of your tent;
          Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
          Lengthen your cords
          And strengthen your pegs.

3 “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.
          And your descendants will possess nations
          And will resettle the desolate cities.

4 “Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
          And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
          But you will forget the shame of your youth,
          And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

5 “For your husband is your Maker,
          Whose name is the LORD of hosts;
          And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
          Who is called the God of all the earth.

6 “For the LORD has called you,
          Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
          Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
          Says your God.

7 “For a brief moment I forsook you,
          But with great compassion I will gather you.

8 “In an outburst of anger
          I hid My face from you for a moment,
          But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”
          Says the LORD your Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
          When I swore that the waters of Noah
          Would not flood the earth again;
          So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
          Nor will I rebuke you.

10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
          But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
          And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
          Says the LORD who has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
          Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
          And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.

12 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
          And your gates of crystal,
          And your entire wall of precious stones.

13 “All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
          And the well-being of your sons will be great.

14 “In righteousness you will be established;
          You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
          And from terror, for it will not come near you.

15 “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
          Whoever assails you will fall because of you.

16 “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
          And brings out a weapon for its work;
          And I have created the destroyer to ruin.

17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
          And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
          This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
          And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.