God's splendour will be seen

1Thirsty deserts will be glad;

barren lands will celebrate

and blossom with flowers.

2Deserts will bloom everywhere

and sing joyful songs.

They will be as majestic

as Mount Lebanon,

as glorious as Mount Carmel

or Sharon Valley.

Everyone will see

the wonderful splendour

of the LORD our God.

God changes everything

3-4Here is a message for all35.3: He 12.12.

who are weak, trembling,

and worried:

“Cheer up! Don't be afraid.

Your God is coming

to punish your enemies.

God will take revenge on them

and rescue you.”

5The blind will see,35.5,6: Mt 11.5; Lk 7.22.

and the ears of the deaf

will be healed.

6Those who were lame

will leap around like deer;

tongues once silent

will begin to shout.

Water will rush

through the desert.

7Scorching sand

will turn into a lake,

and thirsty ground

will flow with fountains.

Grass will grow in wetlands,

where packs of wild dogs

once made their home.35.7 where…home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

God's sacred highway

8A good road will be there,

and it will be named

“God's Sacred Highway”.

It will be for God's people;

no one unfit to worship God

will walk on that road.

And no fools can travel

on that highway.35.8 And…highway: Or “And not even a fool can miss that highway.”

9No lions or other wild animals

will come near that road;

only those the LORD has saved

will travel there.

10The people the LORD has rescued

will come back singing

as they enter Zion.

Happiness will be a crown

they will always wear.

They will celebrate and shout

because all sorrows and worries

will be gone far away.