Add parallel Print Page Options

God Will Comfort His People

35 The dry desert will rejoice. The desert will be glad and blossom. It will be covered with flowers and dance with joy. It will be as beautiful as the forest of Lebanon, the hill of Carmel, and the Sharon Valley. This will happen because all people will see the Glory of the Lord. They will see the beauty of our God.

Make the weak arms strong again. Strengthen the weak knees. People are afraid and confused. Say to them, “Be strong! Don’t be afraid!” Look, your God will come and punish your enemies. He will come and give you your reward. He will save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened so that they can see, and the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear. Crippled people will dance like deer, and those who cannot speak now will use their voices to sing happy songs. This will happen when springs of water begin to flow in the dry desert. Now people see mirages[a] that look like water, but then there will be real pools of water. There will be wells in the dry land where water flows from the ground. Tall water plants will grow where wild animals once ruled.

There will be a road there. This highway will be called “The Holy Road.” Evil people will not be allowed to walk on that road. No fools[b] will walk on it. Only good people will walk there. There will be no dangers on that road. There will be no lions there to hurt people or any dangerous animals on it. That road will be for the people God saves.

10 The Lord will make his people free, and they will come back to him. They will come into Zion rejoicing. They will be happy forever. Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads. Gladness and joy will fill them completely. Sorrow and sadness will be far, far away.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 35:7 mirages In the desert, heat rising from the ground looks like water from far away. This is a mirage.
  2. Isaiah 35:8 fools Here, this means people who don’t follow God and his wise teachings.

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)