3  For the Lord ^ecomforts Zion;

he comforts all her waste places

and ^fmakes her wilderness like ^gEden,

her desert like the ^hgarden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

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.