Isaiah 35

1 The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.

They rejoice from the wilderness and dry place, And the desert rejoices, And flourishes as the rose,

2 It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Flourishing it flourishes, and rejoices, Indeed, [with] joy and singing, The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, The beauty of Carmel and Sharon, They see the glory of YHWH, The majesty of our God.

3 Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

Strengthen the feeble hands, Indeed, strengthen the stumbling knees.

4 Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

Say to the hurried of heart, “Be strong, Do not fear, behold, your God; vengeance comes, The repayment of God, He Himself comes and saves you.”

5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then eyes of the blind are opened, And ears of the deaf are unstopped,

6 Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

Then the lame leap as a deer, And the tongue of the mute sings, For waters have been broken up in a wilderness, And streams in a desert.

7 The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.

And the mirage has become a pond, And the thirsty land—fountains of waters, In the habitation of dragons, Its place of lying down, A court for reed and rush.

8 And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it— only those who walk in the Way— and fools will not stray onto it.

And a highway has been there, and a way, And it is called the “Way of Holiness.” The unclean do not pass over it, And He Himself [is] by them, Whoever is going in the way—even fools do not err.

9 No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.

No lion is there, Indeed, a destructive beast does not ascend it, It is not found there, And the redeemed have walked,

10 So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

And the ransomed of YHWH return, And have entered Zion with singing, And [with] continuous joy on their head, They attain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing have fled away!