¹⁶ I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
    guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
    and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
    I will not forsake them.

⁵ The valleys will be filled,
    and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
    and the rough places made smooth.

²¹ Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left.

⁴ Fill in the valleys,
    and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
    and smooth out the rough places.

⁸ And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
    It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
    It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
    fools will never walk there.

³ Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,
    and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.

¹⁸ In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book,
    and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.

“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”^[a]

⁷⁸ Because of God’s tender mercy,
    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,^[a]
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”