1  ^tThe wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

^uthe desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

2  it shall blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and singing.

^vThe glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of ^wCarmel and ^xSharon.

^yThey shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God.

3  ^zStrengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

4  Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

^aBehold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

5  ^bThen the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6  ^bthen shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

^cFor waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7  ^dthe burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of ^ejackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

8  ^fAnd a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

^gthe unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.¹

9  No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

10  ^hAnd the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

ⁱeverlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

1  ⁿPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2  I will praise the Lord ^oas long as I live;

^pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3  ^qPut not your trust in princes,

^rin a son of man, in whom there is ^sno salvation.

4  When ^this breath departs, he returns to the earth;

on that very day his plans perish.

5  ^uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose ^vhope is in the Lord his God,

6  ^wwho made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

^xwho keeps faith forever;

7  ^ywho executes justice for the oppressed,

^zwho gives food to the hungry.

^aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;

8  ^bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

^cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

^dthe Lord loves the righteous.

9  ^eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;

^fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but ^gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10  ^hThe Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

ⁿPraise the Lord!