Theparashah sections listed here are based on theAleppo Codex.[7] Isaiah 35 is a part of theProphecies about Judah and Israel (Isaiah 24–35). {P}: openparashah; {S}: closedparashah.
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.[15]
This verse uses three terms for desolate places:מִדְבָּר (midbar, "wilderness"),צִיָּה (tsiyyah, "dry place, desert"; KJV: "solitary place"), andעֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, "rift valley"; KJV: "desert").[16] Amidbar is an area that receives less than twelve inches of rain per year and may have some pasturage (if receiving six to twelve inches of rain), but often has desert-like qualities.[16] Atsiyyah does not refer to 'a sandy desert per se', but among the three terms 'most clearly indicates a dry, desert region'.[16] The "rift valley" includes the Jordan Valley, yet 'it still has a reputation as a dry, desolate place from its conditions near theDead Sea and southward'.[16]
"Rose": is translated from the Hebrew wordḥăḇatzeleṯ, that occurs two times in the scriptures, beside in this verse also inSong of Songs 2:1, and rendered variously as "lily" (Septuagint "κρίνον",[17] Vulgate "lilium",[18] Wiclif "lily"[19]), "jonquil" (Jerusalem Bible) and "crocus" (RSV)
The Hebrew wording refers to those "of a hasty heart".[21]Albert Barnes associates the word with "those who are disposed to flee before their enemies".[1]
Jesus cited this verse in claiming these prophecies to himself, when he spoke to the disciples ofJohn the Baptist as recorded inMatthew 11:4,5.[23] Jesus performed the miracles of giving sight to the blind people multiple times, providing the proof that 'he was the Messiah sent from God' (Matthew 9:27; Matthew 20:30; Mark 8:23; Mark 10:46; Luke 7:21).[1]
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.[26]
"The ransomed of the Lord shallreturn": from Hebrew:ופדויי יהוה ישבון,ū-p̄ə-ḏū-yêYah-wehyə-šu-ḇūn,[11] "And_the_ransomed of_Yahweh shall_return"; in combination with the last phrase of verse 9: "and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return."[27]
"On their heads": from Hebrew:על־ראשם,‘al-rō-šām,[11] "[will be] on their head[s]"; NET: "will crown them".[28] "Joy" here is likened to a crown (cf.2 Samuel 1:10), which may also be 'an ironic twist on the idiom "earth/dust on the head" (cf. 2 Samuel 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice'.[28]
"They shall obtain": from Hebrew:ישיגו,ya-syî-ḡū,,[11] "will overtake" (NIV); NLT: "they will be overcome with"; NET: "will overwhelm them".[29]
"And sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (KJV/NKJV): from Hebrew:ונסו יגון ואנחה,wə-nā-sūyā-ḡō-wn wa-’ă-nā-ḥāh, "and_shall_flee_away sorrow and_sighing[11] or "grief and groaning will flee"; NET: "grief and suffering will disappear".[30]
The theme of "sorrow and sighing" can be linked to the elaboration inIsaiah 65.[31]
^Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors).On "Isaiah 35". In:ThePulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
