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God's Splendor Will Be Seen

35 Thirsty deserts will be glad;
barren lands will celebrate
    and blossom with flowers.
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

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

(B) The blind will see,
and the ears of the deaf
    will be healed.
(C) Those who were lame
    will leap around like deer;
tongues once silent
    will shout for joy.
Water will rush
    through the desert.
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

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]
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

  1. 35.7 Grass … home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 35.8 And … highway: Or “And not even a fool can miss that highway.”

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)