Isaiah — Chapter 35

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1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.

2It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

3Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!

4Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

7The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.

8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.

9No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.

10So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

1The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

3Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

7And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

9No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

10And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, the excellency of our God.

3Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [with] the recompense of God; he will come and save you.

5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

7And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but is shall be for [the redeemed]: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err [therein].

9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon; they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk [there]:

10and the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

1Let the wilderness and desert be happy; let the arid rift valley rejoice and bloom like a lily!

2Let it richly bloom; let it rejoice and shout with delight! It is given the grandeur of Lebanon, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the grandeur of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

3Strengthen the hands that have gone limp, steady the knees that shake.

4Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge; with divine retribution he comes to deliver you.”

5Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear.

6Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will burst forth in the wilderness, streams in the arid rift valley.

7The 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.

8A thoroughfare will be there— it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it; it is reserved for those authorized to use it— fools will not stray into it.

9No lions will be there, no ferocious wild animals will be on it— they will not be found there. Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

10those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. They will enter Zion with a happy shout. Unending joy will crown them, happiness and joy will overwhelm them; grief and suffering will disappear.

1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.

2It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. Lebanon’s glory will be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They will see Yahweh’s glory, the excellence of our God.

3Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

4Tell those who have a fearful heart, “Be strong. Don’t be afraid. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution. He will come and save you.

5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

6Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

7The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of jackals, where they lay.

8A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called The Holy Way. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the Way. Wicked fools will not go there.

9No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous animal go up on it. They will not be found there; but the redeemed will walk there.

10The Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

Isaiah pictures the wilderness and desert bursting into bloom and rejoicing as they behold the glory of the LORD (vv. 1-2). The weak are told to take courage because God himself is coming to save them (vv. 3-4), and when he comes the blind will see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, and the mute sing, while waters break out across the desert (vv. 5-7). A clear highway called the Way of Holiness will run through this transformed land, safe from predators and impassable to the unclean, reserved for the redeemed (vv. 8-9). Those the LORD has ransomed will travel it home to Zion with everlasting joy, as sorrow and sighing disappear (v. 10).

Authorship & Background

Author: Isaiah son of Amoz (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Prophetic Salvation Oracle — The Ransomed Return
Key Themes: Creation restored, physical healing, the Holy Way, the ransomed returning to Zion, everlasting joy, no predator on the road, the desert blooming
Historical Context: Chapter 35 is the redemptive counterpart to chapter 34's judgment — together they present the complete picture: wrath on God's enemies, salvation for God's people. This chapter is among Isaiah's most beautiful and most quoted. The imagery combines creation renewal (desert blooming), physical healing (blind, deaf, lame, mute healed), and spiritual restoration (the Highway of Holiness). Jesus explicitly pointed to these signs when John the Baptist asked "Art thou he that should come?" (Matthew 11:5). Partially fulfilled in Christ's first coming, fully realized in the new creation.
The Desert Shall Rejoice (vv.1-2): The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Placed immediately after Edom turned to pitch and brimstone, the reversal is the point of the chapter's position. And what the desert is given is not merely water but the reputation of the best country in the region, the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, which are the three places chapter 33 listed as failing.
Strengthen Ye the Weak Hands (vv.3-4): Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees, which is the physical description of fear from 13:7 addressed and reversed rather than described. Hebrews 12:12 quotes it as an instruction to a discouraged church. Then the message to be delivered, and the order of its clauses is the argument, say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance, he will come and save you. The vengeance and the saving are the same arrival.
The Eyes of the Blind Shall Be Opened (vv.5-6a): Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. Four conditions named and reversed, and the section stops in the middle of verse 6 because the sentence turns there from bodies to landscape. This is the passage Jesus points to when John's disciples ask whether he is the one, in Matthew 11: he does not answer the question, he lists these four items and lets the questioner make the identification.
Waters in the Wilderness (vv.6b-7): For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Then the specific transformation, and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, and the closing detail is botanical and exact, in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. Reeds need standing water, so naming them is a way of saying the change is permanent rather than a single storm.
The Way of Holiness (vv.8-9): And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness. What is said about it is mostly about who cannot be on it, the unclean shall not pass over it, no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon. And then a clause that has been read two ways for centuries, the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. It either means that the road is so plain that the simplest traveler cannot get lost, or that fools are excluded, and the Hebrew permits both; the first reading fits the sentence's shape better.
The Ransomed Shall Return (v.10): One verse to end the first half of the book's poetry. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Revelation 21:4 says the same thing in different words, and the verse is the destination of the highway in the previous section: the road exists to be walked home on.

Map & Geography

  • Lebanon (v.2): Region north of Israel known for its cedar forests.
  • Carmel (v.2): Mountain range along the Mediterranean coast; site of Elijah's contest with Baal.
  • Zion (v.10): The hill on which Jerusalem/the Temple stood; often used poetically for God's dwelling.

Places on this map

  • LebanonMount Lebanon range, LebanonIn the Bible this is the mountain range, not the modern country: a snow-capped wall rising over 10,000 feet behind the Phoenician coast. Its cedar was the prestige timber of the ancient Near East and both the tabernacle's successors and Solomon's temple were built from it. Wikipedia
  • Mediterranean SeaCalled simply the Great Sea, and treated as the western edge of the world. Israel's coast has almost no natural harbours, so for most of its history the sea was a boundary rather than a road, and seafaring was left to the Phoenicians. Wikipedia
  • JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
  • Mount CarmelHaifa, IsraelA wooded limestone ridge that runs 15 miles from the coast inland, reaching about 1,700 feet and forcing the main north-south road through the passes at Megiddo. Rain clouds break on it first, which is why Elijah's contest over rain was staged here. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Isaiah 34-35 | Gardens from Graves | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

The Highway of Holiness - Isaiah 35:8
David Guzik

Isaiah 35:8 || 90-Second Sermon #2 || "Even The Foolish"
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: the promised king who runs through Isaiah from beginning to end.
  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Isaiah -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • The Desert Set to Bloom (v.1) — Isaiah pictures the driest wilderness bursting into blossom, transformed by God's coming. What barren area of your life do you assume will always stay that way, that God might actually be preparing to transform?
  • Be Strong, Your God Will Come (v.4) — Those who are fearful are told directly to be strong, because God will come and save them, not might come. If fear has settled into your life right now, what would it mean to hold on to that promise as certain rather than possible?
  • Blind Eyes and Deaf Ears Opened (vv.5-6) — The healing of the blind, deaf, lame, and mute is presented as proof the kingdom of God has broken into the world. Where do you need to see this same restoring power at work in your own life, not just believe it happened to others?
  • A Highway Kept Safe for the Redeemed (v.8) — God provides a highway called the Way of Holiness, a road cleared of danger for His people to travel home on. Are you trying to find your own way through life, or staying on the path God has cleared for you?
  • Sorrow Will Flee, Joy Will Remain (v.10) — The ransomed return to Zion with everlasting joy while sorrow and sighing flee away completely. Whatever grief you're carrying now, can you hold it alongside the hope that it has an end already appointed by God?