5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
            And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
      6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
            And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.
            For waters will break forth in the wilderness
            And streams in the Arabah.
      7The scorched land will become a pool
            And the thirsty ground springs of water;
            In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
            Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
      8A highway will be there, a roadway,
            And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
            The unclean will not travel on it,
            But it will be for him who walks that way,
            And fools will not wander on it.
      9No lion will be there,
            Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;
            These will not be found there.
            But the redeemed will walk there,
      10And the ransomed of the LORD will return
            And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
            With everlasting joy upon their heads.
            They will find gladness and joy,
            And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

      1“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
      2Thus says the LORD,
            “The people who survived the sword
            Found grace in the wilderness—
            Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
      3The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
            “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
            Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
      4“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
            O virgin of Israel!
            Again you will take up your tambourines,
            And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.
      5“Again you will plant vineyards
            On the hills of Samaria;
            The planters will plant
            And will enjoy them.
      6“For there will be a day when watchmen
            On the hills of Ephraim call out,
            ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
            To the LORD our God.’”
      7For thus says the LORD,
            “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
            And shout among the chief of the nations;
            Proclaim, give praise and say,
            ‘O LORD, save Your people,
            The remnant of Israel.’
      8“Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,
            And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
            Among them the blind and the lame,
            The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
            A great company, they will return here.
      9“With weeping they will come,
            And by supplication I will lead them;
            I will make them walk by streams of waters,
            On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
            For I am a father to Israel,
            And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
      10Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
            And declare in the coastlands afar off,
            And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
            And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
      11For the LORD has ransomed Jacob
            And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
      12“They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
            And they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—
            Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,
            And over the young of the flock and the herd;
            And their life will be like a watered garden,
            And they will never languish again.
      13“Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
            And the young men and the old, together,
            For I will turn their mourning into joy
            And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow.
      14“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
            And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.