Isaiah 35

1 [Some day, it will be as though] the desert [and other very] dry areas are glad [DOU]; the desert will rejoice and flowers will blossom. Like crocuses/daffodils,

Wilderness and parched land, shall be glad for them, —And the waste plain, shall exult, and blossom as the lily:

2 the desert will produce flowers abundantly; [it will be as though] everything is rejoicing and singing! The deserts will become as beautiful as [SIM] [the trees in] Lebanon, as fertile [SIM] as the plains of the Sharon and Carmel [areas]. [There] people will see the glory of Yahweh; they will see that he is magnificent.

It shall, blossom abundantly, and exult, Yea with exultation and shouts of triumph, The glory of Lebanon, hath been given to it, The splendour of Carmel, and Sharon, —They, shall see the glory of Yahweh, the splendour of our God.

3 [So], encourage those who are tired and weak.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, —The trembling knees, make ye firm:

4 Say to those who are afraid, “Be strong and do not be afraid, because our God is going to come to get revenge [on his enemies]; he will (pay them back/punish them) for what they have done, and he will rescue you.”

Say to the hurried in heart, Be strong, Do not fear, —Lo! your God, with avenging, doth come, With the recompence of God, He, doth come to save you.

5 When he does that, [he will enable] blind people to see and [enable] deaf people to hear.

Then, shall be opened the eyes of the blind, —And, the ears of the deaf, be unstopped:

6 Lame people will leap like deer, and those who have been unable to speak will sing joyfully. Water will gush out [from springs] in the desert; streams will flow in the desert.

Then, shall leap as a hart the lame, Then shall shout the tongue of the dumb, For, there have broken forth—In the desert—waters, And streams, in the waste plain:

7 The very dry ground will become a pool of water, and springs will provide water for the dry land. Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow in places where the jackals/wolves lived previously.

Then shall the glowing sand, become a lake, And thirsty ground—springs of water, —In the home of the wild dog—its lair, Shall be an enclosure for cane and paper—reed.

8 And there will be a highway through that land; it will be called ‘the Holy Highway’. People who are not acceptable to God will not walk on that road; it will be only for those who conduct their lives as God wants them to; foolish people will become lost while walking on that road.

And there shall be there, a raised way—even a high road, And the Highroad of Holiness, shall it be called, There shall not pass over it one who is unclean; But He Himself, shall be one of them travelling the road, And the perverse, shall not stray [thereinto].

9 There will not be any lions there or any other dangerous animals along that road. Only those who have been freed [from being slaves in Babylonia] will walk on it.

There shall be, there, no lion, Nor shall ravenous beast, go up thereon, It shall not be found, there, —Thus, shall travel the redeemed;

10 Those whom Yahweh has freed will return to Jerusalem; they will sing as they enter the city; they will be extremely joyful [MET, PRS] forever. No longer will they be sad or mourn; they will be [completely] joyful [DOU].

And the ransomed of Yahweh! shall return, And shall enter Zion with shouting, With gladness age-abiding, upon their head, Joy and gladness shall overtake them, And sorrow and sighing, shall flee away.