1The deserts and parched land shall rejoice,
the wilderness exult and bloom like the rose.
2It surely shall bloom and exult,
yes, exult and sing out in gladness.
Lebanon’s glory is given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall behold the LORD’s glory,
the majesty of our God.
3Strengthen the slackened hands,
bolster the tottering knees.
4Say to the fearful of heart:
Be strong, do not fear.
Look, your God in vengeance shall come,
God’s retribution shall come and rescue you.
5Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
6Then shall the lame skip like a stag,
and the tongue of the mute sing in gladness.
For water shall break forth in the desert
and brooks in the wilderness.
7The heat-scorched ground shall become a lake
and the thirsty soil, springs of water.
Where a jackal’s abode was, its lair—
a courtyard for reeds and rushes.
8And a highway shall be there,
a holy way it shall be called.
No unclean one shall pass over it,
but it shall be for him who goes on the way,
and fools shall not wander there.
9No lion shall be there,
nor wild beasts go up on it.
There the redeemed shall go.
10Those ransomed by the LORD shall return
and come to Zion with glad song,
joy everlasting on their heads,
delight and joy they attain,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee.
CHAPTER 35 NOTES
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1. The desert and parched land shall rejoice. This prophecy of a transformation of the desert into a lush land of blossoming flowers is a metaphor for the grand restoration of the defeated people of Israel. It is tempting to conclude, in particular because of the image of a highway in the wilderness (verse 8) that this prophecy is the work of Second Isaiah. That is not entirely certain, even though the notion (verse 10) of “those ransomed by the LORD” returning to Zion on a holy highway is certainly in accord with the language and themes of Second Isaiah.
the rose. As with other biblical flora, the identity of this flower is uncertain (both crocus and asphodel have been proposed). This translation preserves the equivalent for ḥavatselet used by the King James Version both here and in the Song of Songs.
3. Strengthen the slackened hands. This entire exhortation to the people to be of good cheer, continuing in the next verse after having been downcast, speaks to the condition of exiles.
7. The heat-scorched ground. The Hebrew sharav actually means something like “heat scorch,” but ground is metonymically implied as it is the ground, not the scorching air, that turns into a lake.
8. but it shall be for him who goes on the way. This clause and the next look textually suspect in the Hebrew, and so any translation is conjectural. A literal rendering here would be: and it is for them who goes [sic, singular verb] on the way.
and fools shall not wander there. These are obviously meant to stand in contrast to the pure ones—Israel’s exiles?—who are destined to go on the highway through the wilderness, but the use of the term “fools” is rather odd.
10. come to Zion with glad song. The invocation at the end of this prophecy of “glad song” (rinah, verbal stem r-n-n) and rejoicing marks a clear envelope structure with the beginning in verses 1–2. At the beginning, the desert is filled with glad song because it is blooming; now at the end, the exiles returning to Zion sing gladly as they walk on the highway through the desert.