Isaiah chapter 35
English Standard Version
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
New International Version
2it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." 5Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
New American Standard Bible
1The wilderness and the desert will rejoice, And the desert will shout for joy and blossom; Like the crocus 2It will blossom profusely And rejoice with joy and jubilation. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God. 3Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong. 4Say to those with anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.' 5Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. 6Then those who limp will leap like a deer, And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for the one who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious animal go up on it; They will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10And the redeemed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Christian Standard Bible
1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower. 2It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees! 4Say to the cowardly: "Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; he will save you." 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs. In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus. 8A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path. Fools will not wander on it. 9There will be no lion there, and no vicious beast will go up on it; they will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk on it, 10and the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
New Living Translation
1Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 2Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God. 3With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. 4Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.'
5And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. 7The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.
8And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. 9Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. 10Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
King James Version
New King James Version
1The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
What does Isaiah chapter 35 mean?
Isaiah 35 is a poem that somewhat mirrors the previous chapter. Isaiah 34 describes the Lord's future judgment of the nations, especially that of Edom. Enraged, God will slaughter the people and leave Edom a wasteland of burning pitch and sulfur suitable only to be occupied by animals.Now, Isaiah paints a picture of the opposite happening. A desert will burst into abundant bloom and joyful gladness with singing. This wilderness will receive the glory of the region's most abundant and fruitful landmarks. Lebanon was known for its rich natural resources (2 Chronicles 2:8). Carmel (Jeremiah 50:19) and Sharon (1 Chronicles 27:29) were both associated with abundance and growth. Crocus plants were the source of valuable spices and dyes. Beyond growth, the people will see the glory of the Lord. Just as Edom's future reality is destruction, Isaiah shows that the future reality of the people of the Lord is transformation from misery to rejoicing, from lifelessness to participating in the abundant glory of God (Isaiah 35:1–2).
That moment has not yet come, but Isaiah tells his people to stop being afraid. The text mentions common signs of intense fear, such as shaking or being "weak in the knees." The people are told to encourage each other rather than wallowing in terror. God's justice is coming for Israel's enemies (Isaiah 35:3–4).
When the Lord comes, He will do more than just put an end to those who have been oppressing Israel. He will transform the people themselves. God will heal and make them whole. Sight will come to the blind. Hearing will come to the deaf. Movement will come to the paralyzed. Speech will come to the mute. The transformation of God's people will be like a dry desert suddenly bursting with flowing water and lush plants. Rather than a barren land for scavengers, it will become welcoming (Isaiah 35:5–7).
In that newly restored land will be a clear and open pathway leading the people to Zion. This is another name for Jerusalem and is often used as a symbol of God's authority and presence. On this path the people will be free from natural dangers and evil people. Some translations imply that the path will even keep the foolish from wandering off. Those who are redeemed—purchased with a price—were once in bondage to sin and death. This price is paid by the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:28). In this destination there will be no more pain (Revelation 21:4), only eternal happiness (Isaiah 35:8–10).
