Isaiah 54:6-10

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ¹ 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

54:7 “For a short time I abandoned ²  you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

54:8 In a burst ³  of anger I rejected you ⁴  momentarily,

but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”

says your protector, ⁵  the Lord.

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ⁶ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ⁷  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

54:10 Even if the mountains are removed

and the hills displaced,

my devotion will not be removed from you,

nor will my covenant of friendship ⁸  be displaced,”

says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.

[54:6]  ¹ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[54:7]  ² tn Or “forsook” (NASB).

[54:8]  ³ tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”

[54:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”

[54:8]  ⁵ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:9]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

[54:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[54:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “peace” (so many English versions); NLT “of blessing.”