Isaiah / Chapter 35

Isaiah 35

10 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 35 is the mirror image of chapter 34 — where that chapter decreed desolation, this one erupts in bloom. The wilderness rejoices, the desert blossoms like a crocus, and the glory of Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon are restored. Blind eyes open, deaf ears unseal, the lame leap like deer, and the mute tongue sings for joy. A highway appears — the Highway of Holiness — on which the ransomed of the LORD return to Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy, while sorrow and sighing flee away. This chapter is the theological bridge to the great comfort oracles of chapters 40-66.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Every line of this chapter reverses a specific curse or judgment from the preceding oracles. The desert that was cursed now blooms; the blind eyes from Isaiah 6:10 now see; the highways that lay desolate in 33:8 become the mesillat haqqodesh (Highway of Holiness). The chapter reads as a prophetic catalog of restoration — each image answering a corresponding image of judgment.

Translation Friction

We have rendered mesillat haqqodesh as "Highway of Holiness" rather than "Way of Holiness" to preserve the sense of mesillah as a raised, constructed road — an engineered path, not a trail. The phrase ge'ulei YHWH ("ransomed of the LORD") uses redemption language rooted in the go'el (kinsman-redeemer) tradition. We render simchat olam as "everlasting joy" rather than "eternal gladness" to maintain consistency with the olam vocabulary throughout Isaiah.

Connections

This chapter anticipates Isaiah 40:3-5 (the highway in the wilderness), 42:7 (opening blind eyes), 61:1-3 (good news to the afflicted), and finds its New Testament fulfillment in Jesus' reply to John the Baptist: "the blind receive sight, the lame walk... the deaf hear" (Matthew 11:5, directly quoting Isaiah 35). The Highway of Holiness anticipates the "way of the LORD" in 40:3 and ultimately the "new and living way" of Hebrews 10:20.

Isaiah 35:1

יְשֻׂשׂוּם מִדְבָּר וְצִיָּה וְיָגֵל עֲרָבָה וְתִפְרַח כַּחֲבַצֶּלֶת׃

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom — blossom like the crocus!

KJV The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֲבַצֶּלֶת chavatselet
"crocus" — crocus, lily, rose, meadow saffron

The chavatselet is likely a bulb flower — crocus or meadow saffron — that blooms suddenly and vividly in arid soil. We render "crocus" rather than KJV's "rose" for botanical accuracy. The same word appears in Song of Solomon 2:1.

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter opens with explosive joy — the midbar (wilderness) and tsiyyah (dry land) are personified as celebrating. The desert does not merely tolerate growth; it rejoices in its own transformation. This is the antithesis of chapter 34's desolation.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"will rejoice"

1QIsaiah-a writes ישושום with a plene vav. The wilderness and dry land rejoicing — the desert blooming — opens the restoration vision. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 35:2

פָּרֹחַ תִּפְרַח וְתָגֵל אַף גִּילַת וְרַנֵּן כְּבוֹד הַלְּבָנוֹן נִתַּן־לָהּ הֲדַר הַכַּרְמֶל וְהַשָּׁרוֹן הֵמָּה יִרְאוּ כְבוֹד־יְהוָה הֲדַר אֱלֹהֵינוּ׃

It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The threefold gift — Lebanon's glory, Carmel's splendor, Sharon's beauty — reverses the devastation of 33:9 where these same regions were shamed and withered. The purpose of all this natural restoration is theophanic: to see the glory of the LORD.
Isaiah 35:3

חַזְּקוּ יָדַיִם רָפוֹת וּבִרְכַּיִם כֹּשְׁלוֹת אַמֵּצוּ׃

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the faltering knees.

KJV Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The imperative shifts to direct address — the community is told to strengthen one another. Weak hands and faltering knees are images of exhausted hope (see Hebrews 12:12, which directly quotes this verse). The physical imagery carries spiritual meaning: those whose grip on faith has weakened need to be steadied.
Isaiah 35:4

אִמְרוּ לְנִמְהֲרֵי־לֵב חִזְקוּ אַל־תִּירָאוּ הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם נָקָם יָבוֹא גְּמוּל אֱלֹהִים הוּא יָבוֹא וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם׃

Say to those with anxious hearts, "Be strong; do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The message to the fearful is not "calm down" but "your God is coming." The same divine vengeance (naqam) that destroys Edom in chapter 34 now saves his people. Vengeance and salvation are two sides of the same divine action — judgment for the oppressor is deliverance for the oppressed.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"vengeance"

Identical consonantal text. God comes with 'vengeance and divine retribution' — but the next verses reveal that this vengeance is healing, not destruction. The reversal is stunning: divine vengeance against disability, disease, and death. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 35:5

אָז תִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי עִוְרִים וְאָזְנֵי חֵרְשִׁים תִּפָּתַחְנָה׃

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

KJV Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word az ("then") links the healings to God's coming in verse 4. These are not random miracles but the signature acts of the messianic age. Jesus explicitly pointed to this verse when answering John the Baptist's question, "Are you the one who is to come?" (Matthew 11:3-5).

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"blind"

1QIsaiah-a writes עורים with plene spelling. 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.' This verse, together with v. 6, becomes the programmatic text for Jesus' messianic identity when John the Baptist asks 'Are you the one?' (Matthew 11:2-5). The DSS confirm the pre-Christian form of this healing catalogue.

Isaiah 35:6

אָז יְדַלֵּג כָּאַיָּל פִּסֵּחַ וְתָרֹן לְשׁוֹן אִלֵּם כִּי־נִבְקְעוּ בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם וּנְחָלִים בָּעֲרָבָה׃

Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

פִּסֵּחַ pisseach
"the lame" — lame, limping, crippled

The pisseach of 33:23 who merely gathered spoil now leaps like a deer — the same word, utterly transformed. Physical restoration mirrors the spiritual renewal of the entire creation.

Translator Notes

  1. Four healings in two verses: blind see, deaf hear, lame leap, mute sing. The deer (ayyal) is chosen for its agility — the most dramatic possible contrast with lameness. The water imagery parallels the human healings: as bodies are restored, so is the land. Human and ecological renewal are inseparable.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"mute"

Identical consonantal text. 'The tongue of the mute shall sing for joy.' The four healings — blind/deaf/lame/mute — form a complete reversal of human suffering. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 35:7

וְהָיָה הַשָּׁרָב לַאֲגַם וְצִמָּאוֹן לְמַבּוּעֵי מָיִם בִּנְוֵה תַנִּים רִבְצָהּ חָצִיר לְקָנֶה וָגֹמֶא׃

The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. In the haunt of jackals where they once lay, grass shall grow with reeds and rushes.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The sharav ("burning sand" or "mirage") becomes a real pool — the illusion of water becomes actual water. The jackals' haunt from 34:13 is transformed: where predators once lay, marsh grasses grow. Every detail of chapter 34's desolation is specifically reversed.
Isaiah 35:8

וְהָיָה־שָׁם מַסְלוּל וָדֶרֶךְ וְדֶרֶךְ הַקֹּדֶשׁ יִקָּרֵא לָהּ לֹא יַעַבְרֶנּוּ טָמֵא וְהוּא־לָמוֹ הֹלֵךְ דֶּרֶךְ וֶאֱוִילִים לֹא יִתְעוּ׃

And a highway shall be there — a road — and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not travel on it; it shall belong to those who walk the way. No fool shall wander onto it.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

מְסִלַּת הַקֹּדֶשׁ mesillat haqqodesh
"Highway of Holiness" — raised road, highway, prepared path + holiness, consecration, set-apartness

Mesillah derives from salal ("to cast up, to build up a road"). This is infrastructure — God builds the road home for his people. The holiness is not a barrier but a protection: the road's consecration ensures safe passage.

Translator Notes

  1. The Highway of Holiness is one of Isaiah's most enduring images. It connects the return from exile (ch.40-55) to the ultimate eschatological homecoming. The road's holiness is protective, not exclusionary — it keeps danger out rather than keeping pilgrims in.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"Highway of Holiness"

1QIsaiah-a writes הקודש with plene spelling. The 'Highway of Holiness' (derekh ha-qodesh) — a sacred road where the unclean cannot travel and fools cannot wander — is the eschatological pilgrimage route. This highway imagery connects to Isaiah 40:3 ('prepare the way of the LORD') and influenced John the Baptist's self-understanding.

Isaiah 35:9

לֹא־יִהְיֶה שָׁם אַרְיֵה וּפְרִיץ חַיּוֹת בַּל־יַעֲלֶנָּה לֹא תִמָּצֵא שָׁם וְהָלְכוּ גְּאוּלִים׃

No lion shall be there, no ravenous beast shall go up on it — they shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there.

KJV 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:

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

גְּאוּלִים ge'ulim
"redeemed" — redeemed, ransomed, bought back by a kinsman

From ga'al, the kinsman-redeemer verb. The ge'ulim are those whom the LORD has bought back — not with silver but with his own covenant commitment. The go'el (redeemer) theology of Ruth and Leviticus undergirds this promise.

Translator Notes

  1. The absence of predators is not merely zoological but theological — on the Highway of Holiness, every threat is removed. The ge'ulim ("redeemed") walk where lions cannot. The road's safety is guaranteed by its builder.
Isaiah 35:10

וּפְדוּיֵי יְהוָה יְשׁוּבוּן וּבָאוּ צִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל־רֹאשָׁם שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה יַשִּׂיגוּ וְנָסוּ יָגוֹן וַאֲנָחָה׃

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy crowning their heads. Gladness and joy shall overtake them, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

פְּדוּיֵי יְהוָה peduyei YHWH
"ransomed of the LORD" — ransomed ones, redeemed by payment, purchased back

Peduyei uses padah ("ransom by payment") rather than ga'al ("redeem as kinsman"). Together with ge'ulim in verse 9, Isaiah employs both Hebrew redemption words — kinsman-redemption and ransom-payment — to describe the fullness of God's saving act.

שִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם simchat olam
"everlasting joy" — joy of eternity, perpetual gladness

The olam ("everlasting, age-long") qualifier transforms simchah ("joy") from emotion to permanent state. This is not happiness that comes and goes but the settled, eternal condition of the redeemed.

Translator Notes

  1. This verse is quoted again in Isaiah 51:11, forming an inclusio around the central servant songs. The fleeing of sorrow is personified — grief runs away as the redeemed approach Zion. The verse serves as the theological bridge to chapters 40-66: everything that follows is the working out of this promise. It is among the most hope-saturated verses in all of Scripture.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"joy of"

Identical consonantal text. The 'everlasting joy upon their heads' — sorrow and sighing fleeing away — provides the climactic image. This verse is echoed verbatim in Isaiah 51:11. No impact on meaning.

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