Isaiah 35

English Standard Version

The Ransomed Shall Return

35 ^(A)The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
    ^(B)the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
²it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
^(C)The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of ^(D)Carmel and ^(E)Sharon.
^(F)They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

³^(G)Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
⁴Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
^(H)Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”

⁵^(I)Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶^(J)then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
^(K)For waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
⁷^(L)the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of ^(M)jackals, where they lie down,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

⁸^(N)And a highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
^(O)the unclean shall not pass over it.
    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.^[a]
⁹No lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
¹⁰^(P)And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
^(Q)everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Footnotes

Isaiah 35:8 Or if they are fools, they shall not wander in it

Luke 7:18-35

English Standard Version

Messengers from John the Baptist

¹⁸^(A)^(B)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one ^(C)who is to come, or ^(D)shall we look for another?” ²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one ^(E)who is to come, or ^(F)shall we look for another?’” ²¹In that hour ^(G)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and ^(H)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ^(I)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, ^(J)lepers^[a] are cleansed, and ^(K)the deaf hear, ^(L)the dead are raised up, ^(M)the poor have good news preached to them. ²³And blessed is the one who is ^(N)not offended by me.”

²⁴When John's messengers had gone, Jesus^[b] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(O)into the wilderness to see? ^(P)A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁶What then did you go out to see? ^(Q)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷This is he of whom it is written,

^(R)“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹(^(S)When all the people heard this, and ^(T)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,^[c] ^(U)having been baptized with ^(V)the baptism of John, ³⁰^(W)but the Pharisees and ^(X)the lawyers ^(Y)rejected ^(Z)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come ^(AA)eating no bread and ^(AB)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴The Son of Man has come ^(AC)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(AD)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵Yet ^(AE)wisdom is justified by all her children.”