December 15, 2011, Reading

A Reading From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah   54:  1-10

54:1 Give praise, you who are barren and unable to conceive. Sing praise and make a joyful noise, you who have not given birth. For many are the children of the desolate, more so than of her who has a husband, says the Lord.
54:2 Enlarge the place of your tent and extend the skins of your tabernacles, unsparingly. Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
54:3 For you shall extend to the right and to the left. And your offspring shall inherit the nations, and you shall inhabit the desolate cities.
54:4 Do not be afraid! For you will not be confounded, and you will not blush. And you will not be put to shame, because you shall forget the confusion of your youth, and you shall no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.
54:5 For the One who made you will rule over you. The Lord of hosts is his name. And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, will be called the God of all the earth.
54:6 For the Lord has called you, like a woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and like a wife rejected in her youth, said your God.
54:7 For a brief moment, I have forsaken you, and with great pities, I will gather you.
54:8 In a moment of indignation, I have hidden my face from you, for a little while. But with everlasting mercy, I have taken pity on you, said your Redeemer, the Lord.
54:9 For me, it is just as in the days of Noah, to whom I swore that I would no longer bring in the waters of Noah over the earth. Thus have I sworn not to be angry with you, and not to rebuke you.
54:10 For the mountains will be moved, and the hills will tremble. But my mercy will not depart from you, and the covenant of my peace will not be shaken, said the Lord, who has compassion on you.

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