God's Splendor Will Be Seen
35 Thirsty deserts will be glad;
barren lands will celebrate
and blossom with flowers.
2 Deserts 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.
7 Scorching 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
8 A 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]
9 No lions or other wild animals
will come near that road;
only those the Lord has saved
will travel there.
10 The 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.
Footnotes
- 35.7 Grass … home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 35.8 And … highway: Or “And not even a fool can miss that highway.”