Isaiah 35:3–10

Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

Say 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.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

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;

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.

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.

No 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.

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.

Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

say 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.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then 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.

The 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.

And 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.

No lion will be there,

nor any ravenous beast;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

and 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.

Strengthen the weak hands,

steady the shaking knees!

Say to the cowardly:

“Be strong; do not fear!

Here is your God; vengeance is coming.

God’s retribution is coming; he will save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then 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;

the 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.

A 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.

There 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,

and the ransomed 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.

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,

and encourage those who have weak knees.

Say 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.”

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind

and unplug the ears of the deaf.

The 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.

The 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.

And 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.

Lions will not lurk along its course,

nor any other ferocious beasts.

There will be no other dangers.

Only the redeemed will walk on it.

Those 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.

Strengthen the weak hands

and make the staggering knees firm.

Say to those who are hasty of heart,

“Be strong; you must not fear!

Look! your God will come with vengeance,

with divine retribution.

He is the one who will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf shall be opened.

Then the lame shall leap like the deer,

and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy,

for waters shall break forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water.

Her resting place is in a settlement of jackals;

the grass shall become like reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there, and a way,

and it shall be called the way of holiness.

The unclean shall not travel through it,

but it is for them, he who walks on the way;

and fools shall not wander about.

No lion shall be there,

and no ferocious wild beast shall go up it.

It shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of Yahweh shall return,

and they shall come to Zion with rejoicing.

And everlasting joy shall be on their head;

joy and gladness shall overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee.

Strengthen ye the weak hands,

And confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart,

Be strong, fear not:

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

Even God with a recompence;

He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,

And the tongue of the dumb sing:

For in the wilderness shall waters break out,

And streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool,

And the thirsty land springs of water:

In the habitation of dragons, where each lay,

Shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

And an highway shall be there, and a way,

And it shall be called The way of holiness;

The unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those:

The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there,

Nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon,

It shall not be found there;

But the redeemed shall walk there:

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

And come to Zion with songs

And everlasting joy upon their heads:

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.