Isaiah 35 KJV
The Joy of the Redeemed
Isaiah Chapter 35: The Joy of the Redeemed
The chapter deliberately contrasts with Isaiah 34's oracle of desolation upon Edom, forming a diptych where Edom's transformation into burning pitch is inverted by Judah's desert becoming a blooming garden, highlighting reversal as a structural device across the book.
1he wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
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Did You Know?
The chapter deliberately contrasts with Isaiah 34's oracle of desolation upon Edom, forming a diptych where Edom's transformation into burning pitch is inverted by Judah's desert becoming a blooming garden, highlighting reversal as a structural device across the book.
The 'way of holiness' (v. 8) employs the rare term maslul, found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, to depict an exclusive pilgrimage route where even fools cannot err, inverting wisdom literature's open paths of instruction into a ritual boundary for the redeemed.
Healing imagery for the blind, deaf, and lame (vv. 5-6) draws on ancient Near Eastern divine warrior motifs where a god's arrival restores cosmic order, here applied to Yahweh's theophany rather than mere physical cures.
References to ransomed ones returning with 'singing' and 'everlasting joy' (v. 10) echo the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, recasting the Babylonian return as a second exodus while adding the unique element of sorrow fleeing away.
The chapter's flora imagery of Sharon, Carmel, and Lebanon (v. 2) alludes to royal gardens of ancient Levantine kings, transferred to Yahweh's glory to portray eschatological restoration as a divine enthronement ceremony.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain solitary place โ literally, "a dry place," without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant. for them โ namely, on account of the punishment inflicted according to the precediโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah 35 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Continuation of the prophecy in the thirty-fourth chapter.
- 1
- solitary place โ literally, "a dry place," without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant. for them โ namely, on account of the punishment inflicted according to the preceding prophecy on the enemy; probably the blessings set forth in this chapter are included in the causes for joy (Isa 55:12). rose โ rather, "the meadow-saffron," an autumnal flower with bulbous roots; so Syriac translation.
- 2
- glory of Lebanon โ its ornament, namely, its cedars (Isa 10:34). excellency of Carmel โ namely, its beauty. Sharon โ famed for its fertility. see... glory of the Lord... excellency โ (Isa 40:5, 9). While the wilderness which had neither "glory" nor "excellency" shall have both "given to it," the Lord shall have all the "glory" and "excellency" ascribed to Him, not to the transformed wilderness (Mt 5:16).
Read all 10 notes on Isaiah 35 โ