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 24:11

24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; ³ 

all joy turns to sorrow; ⁴ 

celebrations disappear from the earth. ⁵ 

[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.”

[24:11]  ³ tn Heb “[there is] an outcry over the wine in the streets.”

[24:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “all joy turns to evening,” the darkness of evening symbolizing distress and sorrow.

[24:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the joy of the earth disappears.”