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;
it 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.

(G)Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
Say 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.”

(I)Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
(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;
(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.

(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]
No 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

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

Joy of the Redeemed

35 The desert(A) and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.(B)
Like the crocus,(C) it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.(D)
The glory of Lebanon(E) will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel(F) and Sharon;(G)
they will see the glory(H) of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.(I)

Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees(J) that give way;
say(K) to those with fearful hearts,(L)
    “Be strong, do not fear;(M)
your God will come,(N)
    he will come with vengeance;(O)
with divine retribution
    he will come to save(P) you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened(Q)
    and the ears of the deaf(R) unstopped.
Then will the lame(S) leap like a deer,(T)
    and the mute tongue(U) shout for joy.(V)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams(W) in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground(X) bubbling springs.(Y)
In the haunts where jackals(Z) once lay,
    grass and reeds(AA) and papyrus will grow.

And a highway(AB) will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;(AC)
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean(AD) will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion(AE) will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;(AF)
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed(AG) will walk there,
10     and those the Lord has rescued(AH) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(AI)
    everlasting joy(AJ) will crown their heads.
Gladness(AK) and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(AL)

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 (A)(B)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling 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?” 20 And 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?’” 21 In that hour (G)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and (H)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And 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. 23 And blessed is the one who is (N)not offended by me.”

24 When 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? 25 What 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. 26 What then did you go out to see? (Q)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

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

28 I 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? 32 They 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.’

33 For John the Baptist has come (AA)eating no bread and (AB)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The 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!’ 35 Yet (AE)wisdom is justified by all her children.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  2. Luke 7:24 Greek he
  3. Luke 7:29 Greek they justified God

Jesus and John the Baptist(A)

18 John’s(B) disciples(C) told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses(D) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(E) 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet?(F) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[b](G)

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God(H) is greater than he.”

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.(I) 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law(J) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

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

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine,(K) and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(L) 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1