3  zStrengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

aBehold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5  bThen the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6  bthen shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

cFor waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7  dthe burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of ejackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8  fAnd a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

gthe 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.1