“‘Do not fear!
You will not be ashamed.
Do not be discouraged!
You will not suffer disgrace.
You will forget the shame of your youth!
You will remember no more
The disgrace of your widowhood.
Your Maker is your husband.
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
The Holy One of Israel is
Your Redeemer.
He is called
The God of the whole earth.
Yahweh has called you
Like a wife forsaken,
Like a wife grieved in spirit,
Like the wife of a man’s youth
When she is cast off.’
So says your God.”
Second Isaiah says that you should not be fearful or discouraged because you will not be ashamed or suffer disgrace. You will forget the shameful sins of your youth. You will forget the disgrace of your widowhood, living in Exile. Your maker or creator, Yahweh of hosts, is your husband. The Holy One of Israel will be your redeemer. He is God of the whole earth, not just Israel. You were like a grieving spurned wife or like the first wife who has been cast off for the trophy wife. God is telling you this so that you do not feel bad.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 