1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Isaiah 54:1 | Give *praise, O thou barren, that bearest not: sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord. Luke 23:9.; Galatians 4:27. | Barren Jews in captivity, or Church of the Gentiles, to which alone many of the expressions can be applied. (Calmet) --- The Gentiles were before unfruitful, as the Jews will be till towards the latter times. (Worthington) |
| Isaiah 54:2 | Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles, spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. | Stakes, to receive so great a family. All the Israelites did not return, and it does not appear that many embraced their religion, as they have done that of Christ. |
| Isaiah 54:3 | For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left: and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate cities. | Left. To the north and south. Jerusalem increased. But what was it compared with the Christian establishment! |
| Isaiah 54:4 | Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush: for thou shalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood. | Widowhood. Thy former excesses shall be forgotten. (Calmet) |
| Isaiah 54:5 | For he that made thee shall rule over thee, *the Lord of hosts is his name: and thy Redeemer, the holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of all the earth. Luke 11:32. | Thee. Hebrew, "Bohalaic (Haydock) shall be your Baalim," or husband, who was styled Lord, 1 Peter 3:6. Perhaps he may allude to the two wives, the synagogue and the Church, or to the idols, which should be adored no more. |
| Isaiah 54:6 | For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said thy God. | Youth. This enhances her fault. God is pleased to overlook it, in the captives (chap. 50:1.) and Gentiles. |
| Isaiah 54:7 | For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. | |
| Isaiah 54:8 | In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from thee; but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, said the Lord, thy Redeemer. | |
| Isaiah 54:9 | *This thing is to me as in the days of Noe, to whom I swore, that I would no more bring in the waters of Noe upon the earth: so have I sworn not to be angry with thee, and not to rebuke thee. Genesis 9:15. | Earth. Giving him the rainbow for a sign. My covenant with the Church is equally irrevocable: she is founded on a rock, Matthew 16:18. (Calmet) --- Christ will no more abandon her than he will drown the world. Some mountains shall be moved out of their place, but she shall not. (Worthington) |
| Isaiah 54:10 | For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble: but my mercy shall not depart from thee, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: said the Lord that hath mercy on thee. | |
| Isaiah 54:11 | O poor little one, tossed with tempest, without all comfort, behold, I will lay thy stones in order, and will lay thy foundations with sapphires. | Sapphires. Hebrew, "antimony," a mineral shining like silver, 4 Kings 9:30. |
| Isaiah 54:12 | And I will make thy bulwarks of jasper: and thy gates of graven stones, and all thy borders of desirable stones. | Bulwarks. Hebrew, windows of crystal; (Ezechiel 27:1[].; Calmet) Protestants, "of agate." (Haydock) --- All this is allegorical, like the redemption of the new Jerusalem, Apocalypse. xxi. |
| Isaiah 54:13 | *All thy children shall be taught of the Lord: and great shall be the peace of thy children. John 6:45. | Lord, Christ, Jeremias 31:33., and John 6:45. |
| Isaiah 54:14 | And thou shalt be founded in justice: depart far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee. | Thee. The Cutheans rendered the Jews suspected, 1 Esdras 4:2., and 6:1 |
| Isaiah 54:15 | Behold, an inhabitant shall come, who was not with me; he that was a stranger to thee before, shall be joined to thee. | To thee, in the inheritance. This was verified in the Church. We have no accout of many being converted before. |
| Isaiah 54:16 | Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the killer to destroy. | Destroy. I can give peace or war. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "but I have created thee not for utter destruction." (Haydock) |
| Isaiah 54:17 | No weapon that is formed against thee, shall prosper: and every tongue that resisteth thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their justice with me, saith the Lord. |