The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad: The Hebrew words for wilderness and dry land both refer to an area where there is little rainfall, a marginal area where people cannot live, though they may seek pasture there for their flocks. It is a dry and barren area. For more information on the Hebrew word rendered wilderness, see the comments on 14.17, where it is translated “desert.” The verb be glad pictures the dry land being happy. The prophet speaks figuratively of the land as if it were a person who is happy. In most languages it will be possible to use the same figure of speech. Where it is not possible, it may be necessary to use a general statement for this line, such as “There will be gladness in the barren desert.”

The desert shall rejoice and blossom: This line, which is parallel to the previous one, gives the reason for the happiness of the desert. It implies that there will be rain, and as a result flowers will blossom. The southern deserts of Israel are frequently covered with flowers as the rainy season begins. The Hebrew word rendered desert is ʿarabah (see the comments on 33.9). Here it is a geographical term referring to the desert area south of the Dead Sea. The verb blossom may be rendered “burst into flower” or “become covered with flowers.” As in the previous line, the prophet uses personification by saying the Arabah will rejoice. For languages that cannot use this figure of speech here, an alternative model for this line is “there will be joy in the Arabah as its flowers bloom.”

Verse 2 completes the description of the change that will come to Judah’s deserts. They will become like the three coastal areas mentioned in 33.9, areas with abundant rainfall and fertile land. In the second half of the verse the nouns “glory” and “splendor” are repeated. These two terms are almost synonymous, making the last four lines a very forceful expression.

Like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly: The phrase like the crocus is part of verse 1 in the Hebrew text. The noun rendered crocus refers to a kind of flower but its precise identity is not certain. The only other place where this word occurs in the Old Testament is Song 2.1. It may refer to the “daffodil” or the “narcissus,” which have bright yellow flowers. The context here indicates that it points to a desert flower that blooms abundantly following rain. Good News Translation omits the name of a particular flower, and uses the general term “flowers.” It combines this phrase with the last line of verse 1. It shall blossom abundantly repeats the verb blossom from verse 1. Blossom abundantly renders two forms of the same Hebrew verb, so it is an emphatic expression.

And rejoice with joy and singing: This line has the Hebrew particle ʾap, which New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders “also.” It is probably an emphatic marker, so most versions omit it. The Hebrew verb for rejoice and the noun for joy come from the same root, so rejoice with joy is another emphatic expression. By using these emphatic forms the prophet adds power to his description of the change that will take place. The change will be accompanied by singing. The Hebrew root for singing means “to shout,” but to shout for joy rather than for some other reason. For languages that have difficulty in speaking of the land in these human terms, as something that can rejoice and sing, this line may be rendered “and there will be great joy and singing.”

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it: The glory of Lebanon probably refers to the great cedar forests for which Lebanon’s mountains were famous (see the comments on 2.13). This is clear in 60.13, where the same phrase occurs with the addition of “the cypress, the plane, and the pine.” The deserts of Judah will become as densely forested as the mountains of Lebanon. The prophet is using hyperbole (exaggeration) to make his point. For translators that need to render the passive verb shall be given in an active form, they may mention Yahweh as the agent (see the examples below).

The majesty of Carmel and Sharon: The deserts of Judah will also become as lush as Carmel and Sharon, two other coastal areas famous for their trees. Carmel is the mountain area that runs along the southern side of the Jezreel Valley. Sharon refers to the plain south of Mount Carmel, extending along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. For more comments on these two areas, see 33.9. The verb phrase shall be given to it in the previous line is implied here.

They shall see the glory of the LORD: The referent for the pronoun They is unclear. Revised English Bible understands it as a reference to the newly transformed desert areas by rendering this line as “these will see the glory of the LORD.” Because the verse ends with a mention of our God, some interpreters believe it refers to other nations. But making this explicit might be straying too far from the wording of the text. It most likely refers to people in general, so Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version express it well with “Everyone” (similarly Bible en français courant). The word glory is repeated but the meaning here is slightly different than earlier in the verse. The glory of the LORD does not just refer to a divine quality, but to the glorious things he will do to change the desert areas. This whole line may be rendered “People will see the wonderful/glorious things that Yahweh does.”

The majesty of our God is parallel to the previous line, so the verb phrase They shall see is implied here. Again, the majesty of our God does not just refer to a divine quality, but to the majestic things he does (compare the comments at 2.10).

Most of the Hebrew verbs in verses 1-2 are in the imperfect form, so many versions use the future tense. However, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Bible en français courant render most of them as jussive verbs, which is also possible; for example, Revised English Bible begins these verses with “Let the wilderness and the parched land be glad…” (see also the first example below). We prefer this since verses 3-4 have imperative verbs in Hebrew.

Translation examples for verses 1-2 are:

• 1 Let the wilderness and the barren land be happy,
let the desert rejoice and burst into flower.
Like the daffodil 2 let it flower abundantly,
and let there be great joy and singing.
May Yahweh make it as glorious as Lebanon,
as majestic as Mount Carmel and [the plain of] Sharon.
Let people see Yahweh’s glory [or, glorious deeds],
the greatness [or, great deeds] of our God.

• 1 The wilderness and dry land will be happy,
the desert will rejoice and bloom.
Like wild flowers 2 it will flower abundantly,
and there will be great joy and singing.
Yahweh will make it glorious like Lebanon
and splendid like Carmel and Sharon.
People will see Yahweh’s glorious actions,
the majestic things our God does.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .