Isaiah 35

1 Be glad, thirsty desert. Let the wilderness celebrate and blossom like a lily.

2 The desert places of the Jordan will blossom and rejoice. Lebanon’s glory and Carmel’s honor were given to it. My people will see the Lord’s glory and God’s majesty.

3 Be strong, you limp hands and paralyzed knees.

4 Encourage one another, you who are fainthearted. Be strong; do not be afraid. Look, our God brings judgment and repayment. He himself will come and save us.

5 Then blind eyes will open, and deaf ears will hear.

6 Then a lame person will leap like a deer, and stammering tongues will speak clearly, because water burst out in the desert and a stream in thirsty land.

7 Dry land will become marshes, and a spring of water will flow in thirsty land. Birds will rejoice there among reed dwellings and marshes.

8 A pure road will be there, and it will be called a holy road. No unclean person or unclean road will pass there. The scattered people will walk on it and never wander.

9 No lion will be there, and no dangerous animal will come up on it or be found there. Instead, the ransomed will walk on it.

10 Those gathered because of the Lord will return and come to Zion with joy, with everlasting joy above their heads. Praise, celebration, and joy will possess them, while sorrow, pain, and groaning flee.