Discovery BoxIsaiah 54:11-17 
Context54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away, 1 and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony
and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.
54:12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems, 2
your gates out of beryl, 3
and your outer wall 4 out of beautiful 5 stones.
54:13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity. 6
54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. 7
You will not experience oppression; 8
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified, 9
for nothing frightening 10 will come near you.
54:15 If anyone dares to 11 challenge you, it will not be my doing!
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated. 12
54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon. 13
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. 14
This is what the Lord will do for his servants –
I will vindicate them,” 15
says the Lord.
1 tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm tossed.”
2 tn Perhaps, “rubies” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
3 tn On the meaning of אֶקְדָּח (’eqdakh), which occurs only here, see HALOT 82 s.v.
4 tn Heb “border” (so ASV); NASB “your entire wall.”
5 tn Heb “delightful”; KJV “pleasant.”
6 tn Heb “and great [will be] the peace of your sons.”
7 tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.
8 tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.
9 tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.
10 tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.
11 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb here for emphasis.
12 tn Heb “will fall over you.” The expression נָפַל עַל (nafal ’al) can mean “attack,” but here it means “fall over to,” i.e., “surrender to.”
13 tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”
14 tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”
15 tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”
