The Ransomed Return to Zion
35 Wilderness and dry land shall be glad,[a]
and desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus.
2 It shall blossom abundantly,
and it shall rejoice indeed with rejoicing and exulting.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They are the ones who[b] shall see the glory of Yahweh,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands
and make the staggering knees firm.
4 Say to those who are hasty of heart,
“Be strong; you must not fear!
Look! your God will come with vengeance,
with divine retribution.[c]
He is the one who[d] will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be opened.
6 Then the lame shall leap like the deer,
and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy,
for waters shall break forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
Her resting place is in a settlement of jackals;
the grass shall become like reeds[e] and rushes.[f]
8 And a highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called the way of holiness.
The unclean shall not travel through it,
but[g] it is for them, he who walks on the way;
and fools shall not wander about.
9 No lion shall be there,
and no ferocious wild beast shall go up it.
It shall not be found there,
but[h] the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of Yahweh shall return,
and they shall come to Zion with rejoicing.
And everlasting joy shall be on their head;
joy and gladness shall overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 35:1 The Hebrew has an extra “them,” probably from an accidental of the first letter of the next word
- Isaiah 35:2 Literally “they”
- Isaiah 35:4 Literally “the retribution of gods”
- Isaiah 35:4 Literally “he”
- Isaiah 35:7 Hebrew “reed”
- Isaiah 35:7 Hebrew “rush”
- Isaiah 35:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 35:9 Or “and”