35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy; ¹ 

let the wilderness ²  rejoice and bloom like a lily!

35:2 Let it richly bloom; ³ 

let it rejoice and shout with delight! ⁴ 

It is given the grandeur ⁵  of Lebanon,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the grandeur of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ⁶ 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ⁷ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ⁸ 

35:5 Then blind eyes will open,

deaf ears will hear.

35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,

the mute tongue will shout for joy;

for water will flow ⁹  in the desert,

streams in the wilderness. ¹⁰ 

35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,

the parched ground springs of water.

Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,

grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ¹¹ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ¹²  –

fools ¹³  will not stray into it.

35:9 No lions will be there,

no ferocious wild animals will be on it ¹⁴  –

they will not be found there.

Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ¹⁵ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹⁶ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ¹⁷  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹⁸