Isaiah 35:1-7

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.

35:3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp,

steady the knees that shake! ⁶ 

35:4 Tell those who panic, ⁷ 

“Be strong! Do not fear!

Look, your God comes to avenge!

With divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” ⁸ 

35:5 Then blind eyes will open,

deaf ears will hear.

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

the mute tongue will shout for joy;

for water will flow ⁹  in the desert,

streams in the wilderness. ¹⁰ 

35:7 The dry soil will become a pool of water,

the parched ground springs of water.

Where jackals once lived and sprawled out,

grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow.

[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.

[35:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “staggering knees”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “feeble knees”; NIV “knees that give way.”

[35:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Say to the hasty of heart,” i.e., those whose hearts beat quickly from fear.

[35:4]  ⁸ tn The jussive form וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם (vÿyosha’akhem), which is subordinated to the preceding imperfect with vav conjunctive, indicates purpose.

[35:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “burst forth” (so NAB); KJV “break out.”

[35:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT “desert.”