The Road of Holiness
1 The desert will rejoice,
and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.
2 The desert will sing and shout for joy;
it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains
and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon.
Everyone will see the Lord's splendor,
see his greatness and power.
3 Give strength to hands that are tired
and to knees that tremble with weakness.
4 Tell everyone who is discouraged,
“Be strong and don't be afraid!
God is coming to your rescue,
coming to punish your enemies.”
5 The blind will be able to see,
and the deaf will hear.
6 The lame will leap and dance,
and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
Streams of water will flow through the desert;
7 the burning sand will become a lake,
and dry land will be filled with springs.
Where jackals used to live,
marsh grass and reeds will grow.
8 There will be a highway there,
called “The Road of Holiness.”
No sinner will ever travel that road;
no fools will mislead those who follow it.
9 No lions will be there;
no fierce animals will pass that way.
Those whom the Lord has rescued
will travel home by that road.
10 They will reach Jerusalem with gladness,
singing and shouting for joy.
They will be happy forever,
forever free from sorrow and grief.
1 The 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.