(1) Sing, O barren one, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the Lord.

(2) Enlarge the site of your tent, Extend the size of your dwelling, Do not stint! Lengthen the ropes, and drive the pegs firm. (3) For you shall spread out to the right and the left;Your offspring shall dispossess nations And shall people the desolate towns.(4)Fear not, you shall not be shamed; Do not cringe, you shall not be disgraced. For you shall forget The reproach of your youth, And remember no more The shame of your widowhood.(5)For the One who made you—whose name is “GOD of Hosts”—
Will espouse you.The Holy One of Israel—who is called “God of all the Earth”—Will redeem you.(6) GOD has called you back
As a wife forlorn and forsaken.Can one cast off the wife of his youth?—said your God.(7)For a little while I forsook you,But with vast love I will bring you back.(8)In slight anger, for a moment, I hid My face from you; But with kindness everlasting I will take you back in love—said GOD your Redeemer. (9)For this to Me is like the waters of Noah:
As I swore that the waters of Noah Nevermore would flood the earth, So I swear that I will not Be angry with you or rebuke you. (10) For the mountains may move And the hills be shaken, But my loyalty shall never move from you, Nor My covenant of friendship be shaken—said GOD, who takes you back in love.

(1) God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and God caused a wind to blow across the earth, and the waters subsided.

(1)Listen to Me, you who pursue justice,You who seek GOD:
Look to the rock you were hewn from, To the quarry you were dug from.(2)Look back to Abraham your father And to Sarah who brought you forth. For he was only one when I called him, But I blessed him and made him many.

(3)Truly GOD has comforted Zion,
Comforted all her ruins—Made her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the Garden of GOD.
Gladness and joy shall abide there, Thanksgiving and the sound of music.

... we follow the Pesikta and recite the three haftarot of calamity before Tisha B’Av. They are:

“The words of Jeremiah” (Divrei Yirmiyahu; Jeremiah 1:1)

“Hear the word of the Lord” (Shim’u devar Adonai; Jeremiah 2:4)

“The vision of Isaiah” (Chazon Yeshayahu; Isaiah 1:1)

After Tisha B’Av come the seven haftarot of consolation, followed by two haftarot of repentance. They are:

1. “Comfort, comfort” (Nachamu, nachamu; Isaiah 40:1)

2. “But Zion said” (Vatomer Tziyon; Isaiah 49:14)

3. “O afflicted one, storm-tossed” (Aniyah so’arah; Isaiah 54:11)

4. “I, I am the One who comforts you” (Anochi, Anochi; Isaiah 51:12)

5. “Sing, O barren one” (Roni akarah; Isaiah 54:1)

6. “Arise, shine” (Kumi ori; Isaiah 60:1)

7. “I will greatly rejoice” (Sos asis; Isaiah 61:10)

“Seek the Lord” (Dirshu; Isaiah 55:6)

“Return, O Israel” (Shuvah; Hosea 14:2)

We therefore place “O afflicted one, storm-tossed” before “Sing, O barren one,” because it is the nature of these consolations to become progressively greater and more praiseworthy.

This sequence begins with Parashat Pinchas, and its mnemonic is:

דש״ח נו״ע אר״ק שד״ש

Divrei [Yirmiyahu], Shim’u, Chazon; Nachamu, Vatomer [Tziyon], Aniyah [so’arah]; Anochi, Roni [akarah], Kumi [ori]; Sos [asis], Dirshu, Shuvah.

“I will greatly rejoice” is always read when the Torah portion is Atem Nitzavim—that is, on the Shabbat preceding Rosh Hashanah—because it is the last of the consolations.

...

This practice, established according to the Pesikta, should never be altered. ...

“Sing, O barren woman” — Pesikta de-Rav Kahana

“He establishes the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children.”

—Psalms 113:9

There are seven barren women: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, the wife of Manoah, Hannah and Zion.

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to our mother Sarah, as it is written:

“Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.”

—Genesis 11:30

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“Sarah has nursed children!”

—Genesis 21:7

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to Rebecca, as it is written:

“Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren.”

—Genesis 25:21

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“The Lord responded to his plea, and his wife Rebecca conceived.”

—Genesis 25:21

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to Leah, as it is written:

“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb.”

—Genesis 29:31

From this we learn that Leah had been barren.

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“For I have borne him six sons.”

—Genesis 30:20

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to Rachel, as it is written:

“But Rachel was barren.”

—Genesis 29:31

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.”

—Genesis 35:24

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to the wife of Manoah, as it is written:

“An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: ‘Behold, you are barren and have borne no child.’”

—Judges 13:3

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“But you shall conceive and bear a son.”

—Judges 13:3

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to Hannah, as it is written:

“Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.”

—I Samuel 1:2

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“She conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.”

—I Samuel 2:21

Another interpretation:

“He establishes the barren woman in her home.”

This refers to Zion, as it is written:

“Sing, O barren woman who has not given birth!”

—Isaiah 54:1

“As a joyful mother of children.”

As it is written:

“Then you shall say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me all these?’”

—Isaiah 49:21

“Sing, O barren woman” — Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 20:2

Rabbi Reuben interpreted:

“Sing, O barren woman.”

—Isaiah 54:1

He read the word rani—“sing”—as the Greek word eirēnē, meaning “peace”:

“Peace will come to you, O barren woman.”

Rabbi Meir said: Do not read akarah, “barren,” but akurah, “uprooted.” She is the nation whom the nations of the world uprooted.

This is what Scripture says:

“Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall; how they cried, ‘Raze it, raze it, down to its very foundations!’”

—Psalms 137:7

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: “Strip it bare! Strip it bare!”—that is, “Destroy it! Destroy it!”—as Scripture says:

“The broad wall of Babylon shall be utterly demolished.”

—Jeremiah 51:58

The remainder of the passage continues in the same vein.

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The principal guests—the most prominent descendants—came from Leah, yet Rachel was regarded as the principal one, the ikkar. This is suggested by the verse:

“But Rachel was barren”—akarah.

—Genesis 29:31

Rabbi Isaac said: Rachel was the mainstay—the ikkarah—of the household, as it is written:

“But Rachel was barren”—akarah.

Read it instead as:

“Rachel was the mainstay”—ikkarah.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai taught: Because everything depended upon Rachel, the children of Israel were called by her name:

“Rachel weeps for her children.”

—Jeremiah 31:15

And not only were they called by Rachel’s name; they were even called by the name of her son:

“Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

—Amos 5:15

And they were also called by the name of her son’s son:

“Is Ephraim My precious son?”

—Jeremiah 31:20

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan:

This may be compared to a king who betrothed a noblewoman and wrote her a generous marriage contract. In it he promised:

“So many wedding canopies will I prepare for you; so many ornaments will I give you; so many treasures will I bestow upon you.”

He left her and traveled overseas, where he remained for many years.

Her companions would taunt her, saying:

“How long will you sit here waiting? Go and take another husband while you are still young and while your strength is still with you!”

She would enter her house, take out her marriage contract, read it and be comforted.

After many years, the king returned from overseas. He said to her:

“My daughter, I am astonished. How did you manage to wait for me throughout all these years?”

She replied:

“My lord the king, had it not been for the generous marriage contract you wrote for me, my companions would long ago have caused me to abandon you.”

So too, in this world the nations taunt Israel, saying:

“How long will you continue to die for your God, surrendering your lives for Him and allowing yourselves to be killed for His sake? How much suffering He brings upon you! How much plunder and humiliation He brings upon you! How many afflictions He brings upon you! Come join us, and we will make you dukes, governors and military commanders.”

Israel then enters its synagogues and houses of study, takes out the Torah scroll and reads:

“I will walk among you; I will make you fruitful and multiply you; and I will establish My covenant with you.”

—Leviticus 26:9

And they are comforted.

When the appointed end arrives, the Holy One will say to Israel:

“I am astonished. How did you manage to wait for Me throughout all these years?”

Israel will answer before the Holy One:

“Master of the universe, had it not been for the Torah scroll You wrote for us, the nations of the world would long ago have caused us to abandon You.”

That is the meaning of the verse:

“This I call to mind; therefore I still have hope.”

—Lamentations 3:21

Similarly, David says:

“Had Your Torah not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

—Psalms 119:92