Isaiah 35:1-2

The Land and Its People Are Transformed

35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy; ¹ 

let the wilderness ²  rejoice and bloom like a lily!

35:2 Let it richly bloom; ³ 

let it rejoice and shout with delight! ⁴ 

It is given the grandeur ⁵  of Lebanon,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the grandeur of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

Isaiah 55:13

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁶ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁷ 

Joel 3:18

3:18 On that day ⁸  the mountains will drip with sweet wine, ⁹ 

and the hills will flow with milk. ¹⁰ 

All the dry stream beds ¹¹  of Judah will flow with water.

A spring will flow out from the temple ¹²  of the Lord,

watering the Valley of Acacia Trees. ¹³ 

Joel 3:20

3:20 But Judah will reside securely forever,

and Jerusalem will be secure ¹⁴  from one generation to the next.

[35:1]  ¹ tn The final mem (ם) on the verb יְשֻׂשׂוּם (yÿsusum) is dittographic (note the initial mem on the following noun מִדְבָּר [midbar]). The ambiguous verbal form is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel). The jussive is used rhetorically here, not as a literal command or prayer.

[35:1]  ² tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); NAB, NIV, TEV “desert.”

[35:2]  ³ tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).

[35:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).

[35:2]  ⁵ tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.

[55:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁷ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[3:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and it will come about in that day.”

[3:18]  ⁹ tn Many English translations read “new wine” or “sweet wine,” meaning unfermented wine, i.e., grape juice.

[3:18]  ¹⁰ sn The language used here is a hyperbolic way of describing both a bountiful grape harvest (“the mountains will drip with juice”) and an abundance of cattle (“the hills will flow with milk”). In addition to being hyperbolic, the language is also metonymical (effect for cause).

[3:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “seasonal streams.”

[3:18]  ¹² tn Heb “house.”

[3:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “valley of Shittim.” The exact location of the Valley of Acacia Trees is uncertain. The Hebrew word שִׁטִּים (shittim) refers to a place where the acacia trees grow, which would be a very arid and dry place. The acacia tree can survive in such locations, whereas most other trees require more advantageous conditions. Joel’s point is that the stream that has been mentioned will proceed to the most dry and barren of locations in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

[3:20]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “will be secure” does not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.