The Ransomed Shall Return
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.
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 vPut not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, win whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he xreturns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 yBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose zhope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes ajustice for the oppressed,
who bgives food to the hungry.
cThe Lord dsets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord elifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 fThe Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign gforever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,1 until the wcoming of the Lord. xSee how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the yearly and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, zfor the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, aso that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the bprophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those cblessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of dthe steadfastness of Job, and you have seen ethe purpose of the Lord, fhow the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, gdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, hbut let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
2 Now when John heard in cprison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you dthe one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John ewhat you hear and see: 5 fthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and gthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
