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The Joy of the Redeemed

35 The (A)wilderness and the desert will be delighted,
And the [a](B)Arabah will rejoice and flourish;
Like the crocus
It will (C)flourish profusely
And (D)rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The (E)glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of (F)Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the (G)glory of Yahweh,
The majesty of our God.
(H)Strengthen limp hands, and give courage to the knees of the stumbling.
Say to those with an (I)anxious heart,
“Be strong, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with (J)vengeance;
The (K)recompense of God will come,
But He will (L)save you.”
Then the (M)eyes of the blind will be opened,
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the (N)lame will leap like a deer,
And the (O)tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
For waters will break forth in the (P)wilderness
And streams in the [b]Arabah.
Then the [c]scorched land will become a pool
And the thirsty ground (Q)springs of water;
In the (R)haunt of jackals, its resting place,
Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
(S)And a [d]roadway will be there, (T)a highway,
And it will be called the Highway of (U)Holiness.
The unclean will not pass by on it,
But it will be for him who walks in that way,
And (V)ignorant fools will not wander on it.
No (W)lion will be there,
Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
[e]These will not be found there.
But (X)the redeemed will walk there,
10 And (Y)the ransomed of Yahweh will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
With everlasting gladness upon their heads.
They will [f]attain delight and gladness,
And (Z)sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 35:1 Or desert
  2. Isaiah 35:6 Or desert
  3. Isaiah 35:7 Or mirage
  4. Isaiah 35:8 Or highway, cf. 36:2; 40:3; 49:11
  5. Isaiah 35:9 Lit It
  6. Isaiah 35:10 Lit overtake

The Ransomed Return to Zion

35 Wilderness and dry land shall be glad,[a]
    and desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus.
It shall blossom abundantly,
    and it shall rejoice indeed with rejoicing and exulting.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They are the ones who[b] shall see the glory of Yahweh,
    the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands
    and make the staggering knees firm.

Say to those who are hasty of heart,

“Be strong; you must not fear!
    Look! your God will come with vengeance,
with divine retribution.[c]
    He is the one who[d] will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf shall be opened.
Then the lame shall leap like the deer,
    and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy,
for waters shall break forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
And the parched ground shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water.
Her resting place is in a settlement of jackals;
    the grass shall become like reeds[e] and rushes.[f]
And a highway shall be there, and a way,
    and it shall be called the way of holiness.
The unclean shall not travel through it,
    but[g] it is for them, he who walks on the way;
    and fools shall not wander about.
No lion shall be there,
    and no ferocious wild beast shall go up it.
It shall not be found there,
    but[h] the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of Yahweh shall return,
    and they shall come to Zion with rejoicing.
And everlasting joy shall be on their head;
    joy and gladness shall overtake them,
        and sorrow and sighing shall flee.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 35:1 The Hebrew has an extra “them,” probably from an accidental of the first letter of the next word
  2. Isaiah 35:2 Literally “they”
  3. Isaiah 35:4 Literally “the retribution of gods”
  4. Isaiah 35:4 Literally “he”
  5. Isaiah 35:7 Hebrew “reed”
  6. Isaiah 35:7 Hebrew “rush”
  7. Isaiah 35:8 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 35:9 Or “and”