¹The wilderness and the parched land will exult, and the desert plain will rejoice and bud like a crocus.

²It will surely bud, and rejoice—yes, with joy and a ringing cry. The weightiness of Lebanon has been given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the weightiness of Yahweh, the splendor of our God.

³Strengthen the slack hands, and make firm the stumbling knees.

⁴Say to those of hurried heart: Be strong; do not fear. Look, your God! Vengeance will come, the recompense of God. He himself will come and save you.

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

⁶Then the lame will leap like the deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy; for waters have burst forth in the wilderness, and wadis in the desert plain.

⁷And the mirage will become a pool, and the thirsty land will become springs of water; in the dwelling of jackals, its resting place, grass will become reed and papyrus.

⁸A highway will be there, and a road, and it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not pass over it; it will be for them, for the one who walks the road; and fools will not wander.

⁹No lion will be there, and no violent one of the living creatures will go up on it; it will not be found there; but the redeemed will walk.

¹⁰And the ransomed of Yahweh will return and come to Zion with a ringing cry, with gladness forever on their head. Joy and gladness will overtake them; sorrow and groaning will flee.