Isaiah 35 Contemporary English Version

God's Splendor Will Be Seen

35 Thirsty deserts will be glad;
barren lands will celebrate
    and blossom with flowers.
²Deserts will bloom everywhere
    and sing joyful songs.
They will be as majestic
    as Mount Lebanon,
as glorious as Mount Carmel
    or Sharon Valley.
Everyone will see
the wonderful splendor
    of the Lord our God.

God Changes Everything

* ³^(A) Here is a message for all
who are weak, trembling,
    and worried:
⁴“Cheer up! Don't be afraid.
Your God is coming
    to punish your enemies.
God will take revenge on them
    and rescue you.”

⁵^(B) The blind will see,
and the ears of the deaf
    will be healed.
⁶^(C) Those who were lame
    will leap around like deer;
tongues once silent
    will shout for joy.
Water will rush
    through the desert.
⁷Scorching sand
    will turn into a lake,
and thirsty ground
    will flow with fountains.
Grass will grow in deserts,
where packs of wild dogs
    once made their home.^[a]

God's Sacred Highway

⁸A good road will be there,
and it will be named
    “God's Sacred Highway.”
It will be for God's people;
no one unfit to worship God
    will walk on that road.
And no fools can travel
    on that highway.^[b]
⁹No lions or other wild animals
    will come near that road;
only those the Lord has saved
    will travel there.

¹⁰The people the Lord has rescued
will come back singing
    as they enter Zion.
Happiness will be a crown
    everyone will always wear.
They will celebrate and shout
because all sorrows and worries
    will be gone far away.