Isaiah 32:16

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard. ¹ 

Isaiah 63:13

63:13 who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running on flat land ²  they did not stumble.

Isaiah 40:3

40:3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

Isaiah 35:6

35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer,

the mute tongue will shout for joy;

for water will flow ³  in the desert,

streams in the wilderness. ⁴ 

Isaiah 41:19

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19-20

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁵  Do you not recognize ⁶  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁷  in the wilderness.

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

[32:16]  ¹ sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.

[63:13]  ² tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”

[35:6]  ³ tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”

[35:6]  ⁴ tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”

[43:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁵ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).