Isaiah 35

The Road of Holiness

¹The desert will rejoice,

and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.

²The desert will sing and shout for joy;

it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains

and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon.

Everyone will see the Lord 's splendor,

see his greatness and power.

³Give strength to hands that are tired[#He 12.12]

and to knees that tremble with weakness.

⁴Tell everyone who is discouraged,

“Be strong and don't be afraid!

God is coming to your rescue,

coming to punish your enemies.”

⁵The blind will be able to see,[#Mt 11.5; Lk 7.22]

and the deaf will hear.

⁶The lame will leap and dance,

and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.

Streams of water will flow through the desert;

⁷the burning sand will become a lake,

and dry land will be filled with springs.

Where jackals used to live,

marsh grass and reeds will grow.

⁸There will be a highway there,

called “The Road of Holiness.”

No sinner will ever travel that road;

no fools will mislead those who follow it.

⁹No lions will be there;

no fierce animals will pass that way.

Those whom the Lord has rescued

will travel home by that road.

¹⁰They will reach Jerusalem with gladness,

singing and shouting for joy.

They will be happy forever,

forever free from sorrow and grief.