1The wilderness and the Arabah will be glad; and the desert will rejoice and blossom.
Like the rose,

2it will blossom abundantly 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 Yahweh, the splendor of our God.

3Strengthen the weak hands, and steady the knees that shake.

4Say to those with a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear!
Look, your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

5Then the eyes of the blind will see, and the ears of the deaf will hear.

6Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the mute tongue will sing,
for water breaks out in the Arabah, and streams in the wilderness.

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

8A highway will be there called The Holy Way.
The unclean will not travel it. But it will be for him who walks in it.
No fool will go on it.

9No lion will be there, no ferocious beast will be on it; they will not be found there,
but the redeemed will walk there.

10The ransomed of Yahweh will return
and come with singing to Zion, and everlasting joy will be on their heads;
gladness and joy will overtake them; sorrow and sighing will flee away.