1  ^uThe wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2  it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of ^vLebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

^wThey shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God.

3  ^xStrengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with ^yvengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5  Then ^zthe eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6  then shall the lame man ^aleap like a deer,

and the tongue of the ^bmute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and ^cstreams in the desert;

7  the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8  And a ^dhighway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

^ethe unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.¹

9  No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the ^fredeemed shall walk there.

10  ^gAnd the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and ^hsorrow and sighing shall flee away.

1  ^uThe Spirit of the Lord God is ^vupon me,

because the Lord has ^wanointed me

to bring ^xgood news to the poor;¹

he has sent me to ^ybind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and ^zthe opening of the prison to those who are bound;²

2  to proclaim ^athe year of the Lord’s favor,

and the ^bday of vengeance of our God;

to ^ccomfort all who mourn;

3  to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the ^doil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the ^eplanting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.³

4  They shall build up the ^fancient ruins;

they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ^gruined cities,

the devastations of many generations.