Isaiah 35 · Verse 1

Isaiah 35:1

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Isaiah 35:1, King James Version

Isaiah 35:1 in other translations

BSBThe wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
WEBThe wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
ASVThe wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
YLTThey joy from the wilderness and dry place, And rejoice doth the desert, and flourish as the rose,
DARBYThe wilderness and the dry land shall be gladdened; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
BBEThe waste land and the dry places will be glad; the lowland will have joy and be full of flowers.
WebsterThe wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

What does Isaiah 35:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Is 35:1-10. Continuation of the Prophecy in the Thirty-fourth Chapter.

See on Is 34:1, introduction there. 1. solitary place--literally, "a dry place," without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant. for them--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 (Is 55:12). rose--rather, "the meadow-saffron," an autumnal flower with bulbous roots; so Syriac translation.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

Flourishing state of the Church of God consequent to the awful judgments predicted in the preceding chapter. The images employed in the description are so very consolatory and sublime as to oblige us to extend their fulfillment to that period of the Gospel dispensation when Messiah shall take unto himself his great power and reign. The fifth and sixth verses were literally accomplished by our Savior and his apostles: but that the miracles wrought in the first century were not the only import of the language used by the prophet, is sufficiently plain from the context. They, therefore, have a farther application; and are contemporary with, or rather a consequence of, the judgments of God upon the enemies of the Church in the latter days; and so relate to the greater influence and extension of the Christian faith, the conversion of the Jews, their restoration to their own land, and the second advent of Christ. Much of the imagery of this chapter seems to have been borrowed from the exodus from Egypt: but it is greatly enlivened by the life, sentiments, and passions ascribed to inanimate objects; all nature being represented as rejoicing with the people of God in consequence of their deliverance; and administering in such an unusual manner to their relief and comfort, as to induce some commentators to extend the meaning of the prophecy to the blessedness of the saints in heaven, Isa 35:1-10. The various miracles our Lord wrought are the best comment on this chapter, which predicts those wondrous works and the glorious state of the Christian Church. See the parallel texts in the margin. On this chapter Bishop Lowth has offered some important emendations. I shall introduce his translation, as the best yet given of this singular prophecy: - 1. The desert and the waste shall be glad;And the wilderness shall rejoice, and flourish: 2. Like the rose shall it beautifully flourish;And the well-watered plain of Jordan shall also rejoice:The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,The beauty of Carmel and of Sharon;These shall behold the glory of Jehovah,The majesty of our God. 3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands,And confirm ye the tottering knees. 4. Say ye to the faint-hearted, Be ye strong;Fear ye not; behold your God!Vengeance will come; the retribution of God:He himself will come, and will deliver you. 5. Then shall be unclosed the eyes of the blind;And the ears of the deaf shall be opened: 6. Then shall the lame bound like the hart,And the tongue of the dumb shall sing;For in the wilderness shall burst forth waters,And torrents in the desert: 7. And the glowing sand shall become a pool,And the thirsty soil bubbling springs:And in the haunt of dragons shall spring forthThe grass with the reed and the bulrush. 8. And a highway shall be there;And it shall be called The way of holiness:No unclean person shall pass through it:But he himself shall be with them, walking in the way,And the foolish shall not err therein: 9. No lion shall be there;Nor shall the tyrant of the beasts come up thither:Neither shall he be found thereBut the redeemed shall walk in it. 10. Yea, the ransomed of Jehovah shall return;They shall come to Sion with triumph;And perpetual gladness shall crown their heads.Joy and gladness shall they obtain;And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Verse 1 Shall be glad - יששום yesusum; in one MS. the מ mem seems to have been added; and שום sum is upon a rasure in another. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it; it seems to have been a mistake, arising from the next word beginning with the same letter. Seventeen MSS. have ישושום yesusum, both vaus expressed; and five MSS. יששם yesusum, without the vaus. Probably the true reading is, "The wilderness and the dry place shall be glad. "Not for them.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 35:1-4
The flourishing state of Christ's kingdom. (Is. 35:1-4) The privileges of his people. (Is. 35:5-10) Verses 1-4 Judea was prosperous in the days of Hezekiah, but the kingdom of Christ is the great subject intended. Converting grace makes the soul that was a wilderness, to rejoice with joy and singing, and to blossom abundantly. The feeble and faint-hearted are encouraged. This is the design of the gospel. Fear is weakening; the more we strive against it, the stronger we are, both for doing and suffering; and he that says to us, Be strong, has laid help for us upon One who is mighty. Assurance is given of the approach of Messiah, to take vengeance on the powers of darkness, to recompense with abundant comforts those that mourn in Zion; He will come and save. He will come again at the end of time, to punish those who have troubled his people; and to give those who were troubled such rest as will be a full reward for all their troubles.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 35:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יְשֻׂשׂ֥וּםye.su.Sumthey will rejoice !H7797
מִדְבָּ֖רmid.Bar[the] wildernessH4057
וְצִיָּ֑הve.tzi.Yahand [the] dry regionH6723
וְתָגֵ֧לve.ta.Geland let it be gladH1523
עֲרָבָ֛ה'a.ra.Vah[the] desert plainH6160
וְתִפְרַ֖חve.tif.Rachso it may budH6524
כַּחֲבַצָּֽלֶת\׃ka.cha.va.Tza.letlike a crocusH2261

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 35:1

  • Ezekiel 36:35

    And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

  • Isaiah 51:3

    For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

  • Isaiah 55:12-13

    For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

  • Isaiah 27:6

    He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

  • Isaiah 52:9-10

    Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

  • Isaiah 4:2

    In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

  • Revelation 19:1-7

    And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. …

  • Psalms 48:11

    Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

  • Isaiah 61:10-11

    I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

  • Psalms 97:8

    Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord.

  • Isaiah 32:15-16

    Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

  • Isaiah 66:10-14

    Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 The joyful flourishing of Christ's kingdom.
3 The weak are encouraged by the virtues and privileges of the Gospel.

wilderness.
29:17; 32:15,16; 40:3; 51:3; 52:9,10; Eze 36:35
be.
Ps 48:11; 97:8; Re 19:1-7
desert.
4:2; 27:6; 55:12,13; 61:10,11; 66:10-14; Ho 14:5,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 35:1

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

  • Isaiah 35:2

    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.

Read all of Isaiah 35

Isaiah 35:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		ALEGRARSE han el desierto y la soledad: el yermo se gozará, y florecerá como la rosa.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Le désert et la terre aride se réjouiront; le lieu stérile sera dans l’allégresse, et fleurira comme la rose;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Wüste und das dürre Land werden sich freuen, und die Steppe wird frohlocken und aufblühen wie eine Narzisse.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Lætabitur deserta et invia, et exsultabit solitudo, et florebit quasi lilium.