Chapter 54
54:1 Give praise, O you barren, that bear not: sing forth praise, and whinny, you that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that has a husband, says the Lord.
54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent, and stretch out the skins of your tabernacles, spare not: lengthen your cords, and strengthen your nails.
54:3 For you shall pass on to the right hand, and to the left: and your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate cities.
54:4 Fear not, for you shall not be confounded, nor blush: for you shall not be put to shame, because you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
54:5 For he that made you shall rule over you, the Lord of hosts is his name: and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of all the earth.
54:6 For the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said the Lord your God.
54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken you, but with great mercies will I gather you.
54:8 In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from you, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on you, said the Lord your Redeemer.
54:9 This thing is to me as in the days of Noah, to whom I swore, that I would no more bring in the waters of Noah upon the earth: so have I sworn not to be angry with you, and not to rebuke you.
54:10 For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy shall not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: said the Lord that has mercy on you.
54:11 O poor little one, tossed with tempest, without all comfort, behold I will lay your stones in order, and will lay your foundations with sapphires,
54:12 and I will make your bulwarks of jasper: and your gates of graven stones, and all your borders of desirable stones.
54:13 All your children shall be taught of the Lord: and great shall be the peace of your children.
54:14 And you shall be founded in justice: depart far from calumny, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
54:15 Behold, an inhabitant shall come, who was not with me, he that was a stranger to you before, shall be joined to you.
54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire, and brings forth an instrument for his work, and I have created the killer to destroy.
54:17a No vessel that is formed against you shall prosper: and every tongue that resists you in judgment, you shall condemn.
976 . Give praise, O you barren . Here against the dejection of their affairs, he promises the remedy of exaltation.
And first, he promises multitude as a remedy against their fewness in number;
second, restoration of honor against their confusion: fear not (Isa 54:4);
third, prosperity against their former adversity: O poor little one (Isa 54:11).
977 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he foretells a multitude of children, declaring the praise of thanksgiving: O you barren , Jerusalem, that bear not , because you are forsaken and desolate, give praise , to God for the benefits granted to you; the joy of those who give praise: sing forth praise , for a song is an exultation of the mind burst forth into voice; and the greatness of their joy: whinny , in the manner of a horse, from greatness of joy, not being able to form speech to express it: rejoice in joy, Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles (Jer 31:7); to our God be joyful and comely praise (Ps 146[147]:1). And he promises a multitude of children: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that has a husband ; as if to say, though you may be desolate, your children shall be multiplied more than the children of cities which have men to beget them: so that the barren has borne many: and she that had many children is weakened (1 Sam 2:5).
978 . Second, he exhorts them to enlarge their place under the metaphor of a tent: enlarge the place , as to the ground over which the tent is extended; and stretch out the skins , with which it is covered; lengthen your cords , with which the stakes are tied; and strengthen your nails , with which the boards are joined, or the stakes themselves. And we read that these things were in the tabernacle of the covenant (Exod 26 and 36). Because of this great multitude of men it is necessary to seek a dwelling larger than the promised land, above: the children of your barrenness shall still say in your ears: the place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in (Isa 49:20).
979 . Third, he foretells their fulfillment of the exhortation: for you shall pass on to the right hand, and to the left , as if to say: you shall increase in every direction. This was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees, when certain cities of the region of Samaria and other regions were added to the kingdom of the Jews: may your seed possess the gates of their enemies (Gen 24:60).
980 . Fear not . Here he promises the restoration of their former honor as a remedy against the confusion which they had sustained earlier;
second, he sets out the firmness of the promise: this thing is to me as in the days of Noah (Isa 54:9).
Concerning the first, he does two things.
First, he promises forgetfulness of their former confusion: you shall not be confounded , inwardly, nor blush , outwardly; you shall not be put to shame , from consideration of your disgrace; you shall forget , because the abundance of your glory, the shame of your youth , when you sinned in the desert, and shall remember no more the reproach of your widowhood , when you were separated from God in the captivity of Babylon, above: you shall not be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed (Isa 45:17); in that day you shall not be ashamed for all your doings (Zeph 3:11).
981 . Second, he promises the restoration of their former honor.
And first, he sets out restoration as to dominion: for he that made you shall rule over you , above: O Lord, other lords besides you have had dominion over us (Isa 26:13); and as to marriage: for the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken : if a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and marry another man, shall he return to her any more? (Jer 3:1).
Second, he promises increase of honor as to the great number of honors: said your God, for a small moment , you have suffered in respect of the things which, taking pity, I will grant you: for that which is at present, is momentary (2 Cor 4:17). And as to their duration, in a moment , as if to say: for a short time you have felt my wrath in respect to the time in which I will have mercy on you, above: hide yourself a little for a moment (Isa 26:20). All these things which have been said are mystically explained of the calling of the gentiles, for heathendom was at first barren, but afterwards gathered many children, according to the Gloss.
982 . This thing is to me as in the days of Noah . Here he shows the firmness of the promise.
And first, from a similitude with an earlier promise: to whom I swore , firmly established, if only you remain in my commandments: I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you (Gen 9:9); the covenants of the world were made with him, that all flesh should no more be destroyed with the flood (Sir 44:19[18]).
Second, from the operation of stable creatures: for the mountains shall be moved , as if to say: it is easier for mountains and hills to be changed than for my words to be made void. Or, by mountains and hills, the powerful of the earth are signified: we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled (Ps 45:3[46:2]).
983 . Note on the words, give praise, O you barren (Isa 54:1), that there is
first, the barrenness of perverse action: for the congregation of the hypocrite is barren (Job 15:34);
second, of holy contemplation: Rachel was barren (Gen 29:31);
third, of temporal tribulation, above: the children of your barrenness shall still say in your ears (Isa 49:20).
984 . Note also on the words: enlarge the place of your tent (Isa 54:2), that the heart is to be enlarged
first, because of the greatness of its guest: do not I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord? (Jer 23:24);
second, because of the multitude of his gifts, below: then shall you see, and abound, and your heart shall be enlarged (Isa 60:5);
third, because of the completion of the way: I have run the way of your commandments, when you didst enlarge my heart (Ps 118[119]:32).
985 . Note also on the words, with great mercies (Isa 54:7), that the mercies to come are great:
first, because they are interior: for I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us (Rom 8:18);
second, because they are eternal: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen, are eternal (2 Cor 4:18);
third, because they are perfect: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed (Luke 1:48);
fourth, because they are extended to many: a certain man made a great supper and invited many (Luke 14:16);
fifth, because they are complete: God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of the saints (Rev 21:4).
986 . O poor little one . Here he promises prosperity as a remedy against adversity.
And first, he recalls their former adversity: O poor little one , Jerusalem despoiled of goods; tossed with tempest , of adversity, above: to a nation rent and torn in pieces (Isa 18:2). I will send you.
Second, he promises future prosperity.
First, as to abundance of goods, setting out a metaphor: behold I will lay , as though in a pavement, your stones , precious stones, signifying men eminent in the virtues, in order , with each one in its order: the gates of Jerusalem shall be built of sapphire, and of emerald, and all the walls thereof round about of precious stones (Tob 13:21).
And he explains the metaphor as to the teaching of divine knowledge, all your children shall be taught of the Lord : I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart (Jer 31:33); as to abundance of peace, and great shall be the peace of your children : much peace have they that love your law (Ps 118[119]:165). And as to justice of works, and you shall be founded in justice , above: Zion shall be redeemed in judgment, and they shall bring her back in justice (Isa 1:27).
987 . Second, as to freedom from evils,
first, promising deliverance from dangers: depart , that is, you shall depart, for you shall not suffer calumny: he shall humble the calumniators (Ps 71[72]:4);
second, the adherence of strangers: behold, an inhabitant shall come , for many from the gentiles adhered to them when they came out of captivity, below: let not the son of the stranger, that adheres to the Lord, speak, saying: the Lord will divide and separate me from his people (Isa 56:3);
third, he promises the destruction of their enemies: behold, I .
And first, he shows the power of the one who promises, setting out a similitude: I have created the smith , the persecutor, who blows in the fire of tribulation, instruments , adversaries, according to his own will: his breath kindles coals (Job 41:12[21]); and he explains this: I have created the killer to destroy : the Lord kills and makes alive (1 Sam 2:6).
Second, he sets out the promise: no vessel that is formed against you shall prosper , that is, he will scatter everything formed, as to those attacking with deeds, and every tongue , as to those attacking with words, above: they shall be as nothing (Isa 41:11).