54:1 Sing. See note 14:7.

barren . . . desolate. In exile, Judah and Israel felt forsaken by God and did not experience His blessing.

more than the children. The New Testament applies this verse to “the Jerusalem above . . . our mother” (Gal. 4:26, 27; cf. Heb. 12:22). See 49:21; 53:10.