Isaiah 35:1

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!

Isaiah 17:11

17:11 The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; ³ 

the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.

Yet the harvest will disappear ⁴  in the day of disease

and incurable pain.

Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ⁵ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ⁶  will fill the surface of the world. ⁷ 

Isaiah 35:2

35:2 Let it richly bloom; ⁸ 

let it rejoice and shout with delight! ⁹ 

It is given the grandeur ¹⁰  of Lebanon,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the grandeur of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

Isaiah 66:14

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ¹¹ 

and you will be revived. ¹² 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ¹³ 

[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.”

[17:11]  ³ tn Heb “in the day of your planting you [?].” The precise meaning of the verb תְּשַׂגְשֵׂגִי (tÿsagsegi) is unclear. It is sometimes derived from שׂוּג/סוּג (sug, “to fence in”; see BDB 691 s.v. II סוּג). In this case one could translate “you build a protective fence.” However, the parallelism is tighter if one derives the form from שָׂגָא/שָׂגָה (saga’/sagah, “to grow”); see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:351, n. 4. For this verb, see BDB 960 s.v. שָׂגָא.

[17:11]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has, “a heap of harvest.” However, better sense is achieved if נֵד (ned, “heap”) is emended to a verb. Options include נַד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד [nadad, “flee, depart”]), נָדַד (Qal perfect third masculine singular from נָדַד), נֹדֵד (noded, Qal active participle from נָדַד), and נָד (nad, Qal perfect third masculine singular, or participle masculine singular, from נוּד [nud, “wander, flutter”]). See BDB 626 s.v. נוּד and HALOT 672 s.v. I נדד. One could translate literally: “[the harvest] departs,” or “[the harvest] flies away.”

[27:6]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ⁷ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[35:2]  ⁷ tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).

[35:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.

[66:14]  ⁹ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”