Isaiah 35:8-10

There will be a special way there, but only for God’s special people. It will be called the ‘Holy Road’ because it is only for God’s special people.

• The Holy Road will lead God’s own happy people to their permanent home – in *Zion.

Chapter s 36 to 39

• In Chapter s 1 to 35, the main enemy of Israel and Judah has been Assyria.

• In Chapter s 40 to 66, the main enemy will be Babylon.

• Between these two major sections in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter s 36 to 39 deal with certain events in the history of Judah. (The text of these four Chapter s is also in 2 Kings 18:13 to 20:19.)

• In Chapter s 36 to 37, Isaiah speaks of God’s help as Hezekiah, king of Judah, worries about the powerful *Assyrians.

• Chapter 38 describes Hezekiah’s illness. The king recovers after Isaiah gives a message from God.

• Chapter 39 describes Hezekiah’s pride. Isaiah warns the king that the *Babylonians will take away the people from Judah as prisoners.

Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
glory ~ the splendid beauty and wonderful light of God’s most holy character.
Zion ~ the mountain in Jerusalem where God’s holy Temple was.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes (large families) of Israel.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s name ‘Lord’ means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
apostle ~ one of the 12 men that Jesus sent to continue his work.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Assyria.
Babylonian ~ a person from the country called Babylon; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Babylon.

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

King Hezekiah

Isaiah Chapter s 34 to 40

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 35

v1 The desert and the dry land will be glad.

The wild places will feel happy and [flowers] will grow there.

v2 Flowers will suddenly appear on the crocus (a kind of plant).

[The land] will be very happy; [its] joy will make it shout [aloud]!

It will gain the *glory of Lebanon.

[It will have] the splendid scenery of Carmel and Sharon.

[These places] will see the *glory of the *LORD.

[They will see] that our God is splendid!

v3 Make strong [your] weak hands.

Make the knees that will not support [you] firm.

v4 Say to the people whose hearts are afraid,

‘Be strong! Do not be afraid! Your God will come.

He will come to punish [his enemies]. He will give them what they deserve [because of] God’s [judgement].

He will come and he will make you safe.’

v5 Then [the *LORD will] open the eyes of blind [people].

And the ears of deaf [people] he will clear.

v6 Then people that cannot walk will jump like *deer.

And dumb people will shout because they are so happy.

Yes! Water will flood into the wild, dry places.

And streams [of water] will pour into the desert.

v7 Then the hot sand will become a pool [of water].

And water will spring from the ground [that was] without water.

In the places where jackals (wild dogs) once lived,

plants called *reeds and rushes will grow instead of grass.

v8 And there will be a highway (important road) there, [that is,] a way.

Its name will be The Holy Way.

People that are *unclean will not go on it.

It will be for those [people] that walk in the Way.

Wicked fools will not go on it.

v9 No lions will be there.

No fierce wild animals will walk on it.

Nobody will find these [animals] there.

Only people [that the *LORD has] bought back [from death] will walk there.

v10 And the people that the *LORD has bought back [from death] will return.

And they will sing as they enter *Zion.

And joy that will never end will show on their faces.

Happiness and joy will go ahead of them.

But [things that cause people] to be sad and to cry will disappear.

About Chapter s 34 and 35

These two Chapter s probably make one poem. Our notes will explain some of the techniques that Isaiah used in his poetry. They are not always clear in translations. Also, there is one thing that translations cannot do. Very often, the *Hebrew words that Isaiah wrote mean two things. One important example is the tense of the words. They can be present and future at the same time. So, in verse 1, ‘earth … now hear’ and ‘earth … will hear’ are both correct translations. Isaiah meant both. The notes mention this when it is important.

Although the two Chapter s make one poem, we can divide them like this.

• Chapter 34:1-15 is a bad dream; in it, God punishes Edom.

• Chapter 35:1-10 is a good dream; in it, God rewards his people.
• Chapter 34:16-17 links the two parts of the dream together.

It is important to note this. The ‘bad dream’ refers to any bad country, not just Edom. God will punish them. The ‘good dream’ happened to Judah after the defeat of Sennacherib. It happened again after the *exile. But it happens every time that God helps his people. And when Jesus returns to the earth, it will happen again to the whole world. So these Chapter s are not only about Edom and Judah. They are like much of Chapter s 24 to 33. They refer to the time when Jesus will return to the earth.

Edom

Amos 1:11 says this. ‘I (the *LORD) will not cancel the punishment of Edom, because he chased his brother (Jacob) with a sword. He felt no pity (for Jacob). He felt angry inside himself. He has always enjoyed this anger.’ Edom was the nation that came from the family of Esau. Esau and Jacob were brothers and they were twins. ‘Twins’ means that they were born on the same day from the same mother. Esau was born first, so he was the older twin. Genesis 25:22 seems to show that they fought even before their births! Their mother sent Jacob away so that Esau could not kill him, Genesis 27:41-45. But Esau himself did not always fight with his brother Jacob, Genesis 33:4-16. However, their families did fight for hundreds of years! The family of Jacob became the countries called Judah and Israel, while the family of Esau became the country called Edom.

Here are some verses that tell us about the battles and the bad feelings between Israel (or Judah) and Edom.

• Numbers 20:14-21: Moses had trouble with Edom.

• 1 Samuel 14:47: Saul fought a war against Edom.
• 2 Samuel 8:14: David defeated Edom and he made it part of Israel.
• 1 Kings 11:14-22: Solomon had trouble with Edom.
• 2 Kings 8:20: Jehoram had trouble with Edom.
• 2 Kings 14:7: Amaziah fought against Edom.
• Obadiah 1:10-14 and Psalms 137:7: Edom helped Babylon, when Babylon defeated Judah in 586 *B.C. In fact, people from Edom even cheered and encouraged the soldiers from Babylon to do it.

In Isaiah 34:1-15, Isaiah used Edom as a picture in words. It was a picture of God’s punishment of those countries that did not obey his laws. So we must remember that Isaiah chapter 34 has three meanings:

• God will punish the country called Edom;

• God will punish any country that does not obey his laws at any time;
• At the return of Jesus to the earth, God will punish every country that does not obey his laws.

The position of Edom was important. The main road from north to south went through Edom. Its name was The King’s Highway (main road). It went through Bozrah. Bozrah was the capital city of Edom. There were countries to the north of Edom that traded with countries to the south of Edom, and their traders usually travelled on the King’s Highway. Also, *Jews from the south who went to the *temple in Jerusalem had to go on this road through Edom. The people in Edom made it a dangerous journey for those *Jews. But when the *LORD had punished Edom (Isaiah 34:5-8), it would be safe for *Jews to travel on the King’s Highway (Isaiah 35:8-10). After the *exile, most *Jews came back from the north, from Babylon and Assyria. But some came up from Egypt in the south. They came ‘up’ for these reasons.

• Bozrah and Jerusalem were about 1000 metres higher than the mouth of the River Nile in Egypt; and

• The Bible sometimes used Egypt as a picture in words for death. So it was as if these *Jews had come ‘up’ from their ‘graves’. Read Isaiah 2:2-4.

Isaiah Chapter s 34 to 35 is the real centre of the Book of Isaiah. It looks back to Chapter s 1 to 23. In these, God promised to punish countries that did not obey him. It completes the section from Chapter s 24 to 33 that refers to Jesus’ return. It then looks forward to Chapter s 36 to 66. In those Chapter s, God makes many wonderful promises to his people. These people are the *Jews in and after Isaiah’s time. And they are also the people that believe these words of Jesus in Luke 4:21. ‘Isaiah said that certain things would happen. And today, those things have really happened’.

Notes on chapter 34:

Verse 1 Isaiah used a *chiasmus in the first two lines. He often used this technique. Sometimes he used it in one verse, sometimes in a group of verses. If we call ideas by the letters a, b and c, then lines 1 and 2 of verse 1 have the form a,b,c,b’,a’.

a	Come near [to me],
b		you nations,
c			and listen [to me].
b’		[All] you peoples,
a’	give [me] your attention.

This is a *chiasmus. a and a’ are similar; and b and b’ are similar. This is because ‘peoples’ here is another word for ‘nations’. ‘Come’ and ‘give attention’ are both commands. ‘Me’ means Isaiah as God’s agent. But God told Isaiah what to say. Many of the Psalms call the whole world to be God’s witness. Examples are Psalms 96:1-3; Psalms 97:1; and 98. ‘Everything that is in it’ and ‘all that comes from it’ mean men and women, plants, trees and animals of all kinds. Lines 3 and 4 contain another technique of *Hebrew poetry. The two lines say the same, but they use different words.

Hear [me, all] the earth,	and everything that is in it.
[Listen, all the] world,	and all that comes from it.

Verse 2 In the *Hebrew text, Isaiah wrote ‘very, very great anger FOR the *LORD’. (He did not write ‘the very, very great anger OF the *LORD’.) He used these words ‘FOR the *LORD’ in verse 6 (twice) and verse 8 also. Here in this translation we read what it probably means. That is, the *LORD ‘has a right to be very, very angry’. He has a right to punish *sinners. *Sinners are people that do not obey God’s laws.

Verse 3 The *Hebrew Bible says, ‘They will throw the dead bodies away’. This means that ‘they’ did not respect the dead bodies. So we have translated it ‘Nobody will bury the dead bodies.’ The *Hebrew Bible does not say who ‘they’ were. We do not know how these armies died. Here, Isaiah seems to say that there will be much blood. The *Hebrew Bible actually says that the blood will dissolve the mountains! It will make them slide and slip away. The important thing in this verse is this. People that do not obey God’s rules will die.

Verse 4 Here, ‘armies’ does not mean people, as in verse 2. It means ‘the stars’ in the skies. It is an example of how the same word can mean two different things. Isaiah tells us that people’s *sins have made even the stars *unclean. Paul wrote about this in Romans 8:19-22. ‘*Unclean’ here means that they cannot remain in front of God. The *vine and the fig tree were common plants in Judah. The ‘fig’ tree produced figs (sweet fruits with many seeds). The *vine produced *grapes. They both produced valuable fruits. In verses 1-4, Isaiah describes the time when Jesus will return to the Earth.

Verse 5 ‘Has done its work’ explains the idiom (special *Hebrew way to say something) in this verse. The *Hebrew Bible has, ‘My sword has drunk as much as it can.’ Verses like Exodus 17:13 and Joshua 6:21 in the *Hebrew Bible refer to ‘the mouth of the sword’. People were speaking as if the sword were a hungry wild animal or a greedy person. It wanted to eat or to drink! That is, it wanted to kill people! In our verse, the sword is ‘drinking’ people when it kills them. But it can drink no more. It is full up. So our translation says that it has ‘done its work’. ‘Come down on’ and ‘fall on’ mean the same thing. They mean that the sword will come down from the skies to kill people. For some of chapter 34, Isaiah used Edom as an example of people that God will punish. Edom was a country to the south-east of Judah. It was always an enemy of Israel and Judah. There are only 2 verses about Edom in the section Isaiah Chapter s 13 to 23. The verses are Isaiah 21:11-12. This is probably because Isaiah also wrote about the punishment of Edom here.

Verse 6 The *Hebrew has ‘a sword for the *LORD’. (Look at the note on verse 2.) This probably means that he has a right to use it. He uses it as a tool to carry out his judgement. He punishes people with it. Isaiah does not say who the *LORD’s agent is. The *Hebrew Bible spoke as if the sword had a mouth. (Look at the note on verse 5.) Here the sword has drunk enough blood and it has eaten enough fat! This was after the sword had destroyed (‘eaten and drunk’) Bozrah. Young sheep, goats and male sheep were animals that the priests burned to God in the *temple at Jerusalem (Numbers 7:88).

In the last two lines, the *Hebrew Bible has ‘a *sacrifice for the *LORD’. This is the third use of these strange words, two of them in this verse. A ‘*sacrifice’ is something that the priests put apart (or separated) for the *LORD. Usually it was an animal. They killed it and they burned it. Here, the *LORD (or his agent) will kill and burn the people in Bozrah city. Bozrah was the capital of Edom. It was at the southern end of the Dead Sea. In this verse, it probably means the whole country called Edom. This is because the last two lines of verse 6 contain another example of *Hebrew poetry: both lines mean the same. Therefore Bozrah means Edom.

Verse 7 ‘Them’ and ‘their’ probably mean the people in Edom and other countries. The *Hebrew Bible does not say who it is. ‘Will fall’ means ‘will die’. Note that lines 1 and 2 have similar meanings. So do lines 3 and 4. This again is part of Isaiah’s technique. The writer Victor Buksbazen, who is a *Jew, has an interesting idea about this verse. He thinks that the smaller animals (sheep, goats) mean smaller countries, like Edom and Moab. The larger animals (*bulls, and animals called oxen) mean larger countries, like Babylon, Egypt and Assyria. ‘Oxen’ (plural of ‘ox’) are animals like cows.

Verse 8 The *Hebrew says ‘a day of punishment for the *LORD’. (Read the notes on verses 2 and 6). The *Hebrew words for ‘punish’ and ‘*destroy’ both mean ‘have *vengeance on’ someone. ‘*Vengeance’ means ‘to do to people the bad things that they have done to other people’. The Bible calls it ‘an eye for an eye’, Exodus 21:24. This means that there is a proper punishment for every injury. So if someone destroys your eye, they should pay for that particular injury. Nothing more or less than that is enough.

There is a problem is this verse. The answer decides how we understand verses 8-17. An exact translation of lines 2 and 3 is this. ‘It will be a year when (the *LORD) will have *vengeance on the case of *Zion’. Bible students suggest two different meanings for ‘the case of *Zion’.

• The case for *Zion. This means that God will support *Zion. He will punish *Zion’s enemies.

• The case against *Zion. This means that God will punish *Zion as well as Edom.

In this translation, we believe that the first meaning is correct. Therefore the word Edom is in verse 9, although it is not in the *Hebrew Bible. But we must also remember the connection with the time when Jesus will return to the Earth. Isaiah could have meant any country that does not obey God. This would include *Zion, the capital city of Judah. When Jesus returns to the earth, that will be good news for some people, but bad news for other people. For some people, it will be like Isaiah’s good dream (35:1-10). But for other people, it will be like the bad dream in 34:1-15.

Verse 9 The *Hebrew Bible has ‘her streams will turn into a sticky black substance called pitch’. Cities are usually female in *Hebrew, so ‘her’ refers to a city. But it is not clear which city it refers to. Many Bible students think that ‘her’ means Edom. But perhaps ‘her’ does not refer to Edom or Bozrah. The city in the previous verse was not Bozrah. It was *Zion. Some people think that ‘her’ means *Zion, or even Babylon or Gomorrah. But we cannot be certain. Read the note on verse 8 again. ‘Pitch’ is a sticky, black substance. People find it in the ground with oil. Or it remains after oil boils away when people make petrol. Pitch burns easily. So does the yellow substance called sulphur. People also find that in the ground. It burns with a blue flame and it makes a nasty, poisonous smell. Farmers could not work if their water became pitch. And they could not work if their soil became sulphur.

It is interesting to know this fact. Today people have discovered oil in the regions near Bozrah, Babylon and Gomorrah.

Verse 10 Here is another of Isaiah’s poetry techniques. He used 4 ideas in one verse. They have similar meanings. The *Hebrew for ‘one century to the next century’ is ‘the people that live at one time to the people that live at a later time’. ‘Ever’ is ‘ever to evers’ in the *Hebrew Bible. This means a ‘very, very long time’. Notice the way that the fire becomes worse through the verse: day and night; a long time; century to century; a very, very long time. But none of these words means that it will never stop burning.

Verse 11 An ‘owl’ is a large bird that hunts for its food at night. Not all translations agree with the names of the birds. Some people suggest that the ‘*owl that screams’ is really a kind of wild pig (called a ‘wild hedge pig’). They were all *unclean animals to *Jews. They could not eat them, or offer them to God as a *sacrifice. Read the note on verse 6. Isaiah did not explain how the birds could live in the fires! Neither does he say which city ‘it’ is. Read the note on verse 9. A raven is a large black bird that eats dead animals. ‘The *owl’ and ‘the raven’ means ‘*owls’ and ‘ravens’, not just one of each.

Builders use a line to measure whether a wall is straight. A ‘plumbline’ is a string with a heavy object on its end. People usually make the object from a heavy metal called lead. So the string hangs straight down at 90 degrees to the ground. Therefore builders can compare the walls to the plumbline to make sure that the walls stand straight up. In that way, they can make good buildings. But here the *LORD does the opposite! He turns the country called Edom into something that is not good. It will become without shape and it will be empty. There will be nothing in it. These words are the same words in the *Hebrew Bible as those in Genesis 1:2: ‘And the earth was without shape and empty’.

Verse 12 A *kingdom is a country that a king rules over. In Edom, the leaders elected their king. But there is nothing for the king and his leaders to govern! Bible students do not agree on how to translate this verse. Some think that there are no leaders as well as no *kingdom. Both meanings agree with ‘without shape and empty’ in verse 11.

Verse 13 ‘*Thorn bushes’, ‘*briers’ and ‘nettles’ are plants that grow well in dry countries. They are weeds that have little or no use. Nettles sting people when they touch them. And *thorn bushes and *briers stick small points that are like needles (called ‘thorns’) into people. Isaiah often wrote that these weeds were in towns that enemies had ruined. Some verses are: Isaiah 5:6; Isaiah 7:23-25; Isaiah 9:18; Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 32:18; Isaiah 33:12. There will not only be wild birds, verse 11, and weeds. There will also be wild animals like jackals. ‘Jackals’ are wild dogs that hunt in groups. ‘Ostriches’ are huge birds that cannot fly. Bible students are not certain about the names for those animals, or the ones in verses 14-15.

Verse 14 ‘Hyenas’ are like very large wild dogs that hunt other animals for food. The *Hebrew word for ‘female devils of the night’ is ‘lilith’. The *Jews were afraid of such things. They thought that they lived in desert places. There, they did bad magic. Other translations have ‘*creatures of the night’ for ‘lilith’. Some people still use the word ‘lilith’. It describes a woman that does dangerous and evil magic. They say that the woman called Lilith eats young babies, even her own babies.

Verse 15 Isaiah only mentioned one *owl, but he meant all birds of that type. In order to ‘*hatch’ its eggs, the bird sits on them. It keeps them warm until the young birds come out from their eggs. Some Bible students think that the word ‘*owl’ should be ‘snake’. However, snakes do not *hatch their eggs. ‘Vultures’ are large birds that eat dead animals and dead birds.

Verses 16-17 Verse 16 puzzles Bible students. The first sentence is easy to translate. But in it there are three problems.

• Who must look and read? Is it:

(1) all the nations (verse 1)?

(2) the *Jews?

(3) perhaps even us?

• What is the *scroll (or book)? Is it:

(1) part, or all, of the Book of Isaiah?

(2) a book that God keeps in heaven?

(3) an agreement between Judah and Edom?

• What does ‘*LORD’s book’ mean? Is it:

(1) a book that God wrote?

(2) a book that God owns?

For us, here are some useful answers. The *scroll is part, or all, of the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah wrote down God’s words for everybody, and that includes us, to read. Any other meaning is less important for us today.

There is another problem in the last part of verse 16 and in verse 17. Who are ‘them’? If these verses link Isaiah 34:1-15 with Isaiah 35:1-10, then there are two answers.

• ‘Them’ means the animals. These animals live in the places that the *LORD destroyed, 34:15-16.

• ‘Them’ means the people that will live in *Zion, 35:10.

Notice the way Isaiah describes God as like a human person. He has mouth, breath and hands. For ‘from one century to the next century’ read the note on Isaiah 34:10. Also, notice the measuring line again. The same word as in verse 11 has the opposite result when God uses it here! In verse 11 it *destroyed God’s enemies. Here it gives people a place to live in.

Notes on Chapter 35

Verse 1 Isaiah tells us that the land will feel happy. He means that it will not still be empty. Instead, it will be full of flowers. Of course, land itself cannot feel happy. It is a special *Hebrew way to say something. It was another of Isaiah’s poetry techniques. The deserts south of Jerusalem are full of flowers after the rain falls on them. ‘The land’ means the land in Judah and Israel. But when Jesus will return to the earth, the land will be the whole world! This is true in all chapter 35.

Verse 2 A crocus is a plant that flowers in Spring in England. There are similar plants that grow in many countries. It is not certain what plant Isaiah meant. The ‘*glory of Lebanon’ probably means the great forests of cedar trees (large, beautiful trees) that made that country famous. The *LORD will give this *glory to ‘it’. After the *exile, ‘to it’ means to Judah and to Israel. After Jesus has returned to the earth, ‘it’ will mean the whole world. ‘These places’ may be the countries round Judah and Israel. People in those countries will see what God has done. And then they may realise that he is wonderful. But ‘these places’ may mean Carmel and Sharon. Carmel is a hill in north-west Israel. The Plain of Sharon is in the west, next to the Mediterranean Sea.

Verse 3 Weak hands (arms), and knees (legs) that do not support people are evidence of fear. Notice the *chiasmus: strong – hands – knees – firm. This verse calls for courage among God’s people. The note on 34:1 explains what a *chiasmus is.

Verse 4 Isaiah tells the people to encourage each other. ‘Hearts are afraid’ is ‘hearts are quick’ in the *Hebrew Bible. When we are afraid, our hearts beat more quickly. Isaiah did not say whom they were afraid of. It was probably an enemy, perhaps Edom or Assyria. The *Jews believed that you thought in your heart. So really, the fear was in their minds. ‘Punish his enemies’ is ‘have *vengeance on his enemies’. Read the note on Isaiah 34:8 for an explanation of ‘*vengeance’. ‘Make you safe’ means ‘make you safe from your enemies’. This may mean the armies from Assyria that the writer mentions in Chapter s 36 and 37. It may mean the armies from Babylon that he mentions in Chapter s 39 and in later Chapter s. Or it may refer to the time when Jesus will return to the Earth. Then it would mean ‘any enemy of God’.

Verse 5 This verse changes what God said in Isaiah 6:9-10. This makes it a very important *prophecy. There is another *chiasmus in this verse. ‘Open the eyes of blind people’ means that they will see again. ‘Clear the ears of deaf people’ means that nothing will make them unable to hear.

Verse 6 A ‘deer’ is a wild animal like a small cow. It can run fast and it can jump over high walls. Here the *Hebrew word means ‘seems to jump as it runs’. ‘*Deer’ in English can mean one animal or several animals. This verse refers back to verse 1 when water makes the flowers grow again. Judges 15:19 and Psalms 74:15 tell us that God can even get water from rocks. There are often many rocks in wild places.

Verse 7 *Reeds and rushes are plants that grow in water or by water. And at a future time, there will be very much water. So those plants will grow in some places where once there was only grass.

Verse 8 A ‘highway’ is a main road. People called them highways because they were a bit higher than the fields near them. People could therefore see where they were. Isaiah did not say where this highway came from. And he does not say where it went to. It may be the one called the King’s Highway. (Read the note on Edom just before the notes on chapter 34.) It may be the road in Isaiah 40:3. That was the northern part of the King’s Highway. Isaiah just said it was ‘a highway, a way’. He then gave it another name: The *Holy Way. ‘*Holy’ means ‘very, very good’. Only God is really *holy. But *holy can also mean something that belongs to God. That is what it means here. The *temple in Jerusalem was *holy because it belonged to God. People met with God there.

People that were *unclean could not go to the *temple. People that were blind, deaf or dumb were *unclean in the *Jews’ religion. So were people that could not walk easily. But God had made them able to see again. They could hear and speak again. And they could walk again (verse 5). So they could now walk on The *Holy Way. They could visit the *temple in Jerusalem. It was not an actual road, as the King’s Highway was an actual road.

To Christians it is not an actual road. Perhaps it is the ‘road’ that Psalms 1 and Matthew 7:13-14 teach us about. That ‘road’ means our Christian lives. Therefore, Christians walk on The *Holy Way. Many Christians are still blind, deaf or dumb, and many Christians cannot walk easily. But they are not *unclean because Jesus has forgiven them for their *sins. To God they are clean, so they can walk on The *Holy Way.

Verses 9-10 It will be safe to walk on this road. So there is no need to be afraid, verse 4. When people traded they used the *Hebrew word for ‘bought back’. Common English translations are ‘*redeemed’ (verse 9) and ‘*ransomed’ (verse 10). Here, God ‘bought back’ his people from their enemies and from death. People often confuse the two words *ransomed and *redeemed. The following *table should help people to avoid this confusion. There are more notes on the two words in Isaiah 43:1.

word	meaning
*ransomed	*emphasis on the price when God *ransoms a person.
*redeemed	*emphasis on the relationship between the person who becomes free, and the redeemer. (The redeemer is the person who pays the price – that is, God.)

The phrase ‘joy will show on their faces’ is ‘joy will be on their heads’ in the *Hebrew Bible. This probably means that they poured oil on their heads. It was oil from fruits called *olives. They did this to show that they were very happy!

Something to do

1. Read about the punishment of Edom in Obadiah 1:1-21.

2. Make a list of poetry verses that contain some of Isaiah’s techniques. There is another poem in Isaiah 37:22-35.

Technique	Verses that contain this technique
Words that have two or more meanings (a technique called ‘polysemy’)
Unusual or strange words
Two (or more) lines that mean the same thing
To ask questions, or to make us ask ourselves questions
*Inclusios

3. If you can find a map, look for Judah, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Edom and Bozrah.

4. Read some other verses like Isaiah 34:11. They tell about *unclean wild birds and animals in general, where people used to live. Verses include: Leviticus 11:13-19; Isaiah 13:21-22; Isaiah 14:23; Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 32:14; Psalms 63:10; Jeremiah 9:11 and Jeremiah 10:22.

5. Learn to say Isaiah 35:3-4 by heart. Then you will not have to look at the words when you say it.

6. Study verses about roads that mean the Christian’s life: Psalms 1:1-6; Matthew 7:13-14.

7. Make sure that you are walking ‘in the Way’, Isaiah 35:8 and Acts 9:2. There are many verses in the *New Testament that describe a Christian’s life by this word picture. A Christian is someone who is walking ‘in the Way’.

heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
glory ~ something that shines and is wonderful. Especially, it is God’s splendid beauty.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
deer ~ a wild animal like a small cow. It can run fast and it can jump over high walls.
reed ~ plants that grow in water or by water.
unclean ~ not acceptable for the purposes of religion; unable to worship God in his temple; foods that God did not allow the Jews to eat.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
Zion ~ a name for Jerusalem.
exile ~ a person whom enemies force to live away from his own home or country. Or, the place where that person has to live.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
chiasmus ~ a technique that a poet may use. The poet repeats his ideas in the opposite order. For example, we may call ideas by the letters a, b and c. If the poet uses a chiasmus, he may use the form a,b,c,b’,a’. That is, a and a’ are similar; and b and b’ are similar.
sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.
unclean ~ not acceptable for the purposes of religion; unable to worship God in his temple; foods that God did not allow the Jews to eat.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
sacrifice ~ something that the priests put apart (or separated) for the LORD. Usually it was an animal. They killed it and then they burned it.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
bull ~ a male animal of the same kind as a cow.
destroy ~ to punish very severely, often by means of death.
vengeance ~ when someone does to people the bad things that they have done to other people.
vengeance ~ when someone does to people the bad things that they have done to other people.
owl ~ a large bird that hunts for its food by night.
kingdom ~ a country that a king rules.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are also called thorns.
briers ~ bushes that have sharp thorns on their branches.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are also called thorns.
thorn ~ a bush with sharp points on its branches. The sharp points are also called thorns.
creatures ~ animals.
hatch ~ how a bird keeps eggs warm, until the young birds leave the eggs.
scroll ~ a very long piece of paper.
prophecy ~ the words of a prophet.
prophet ~ someone who says what God is saying.
deer ~ a wild animal like a small cow. It can run fast and it can jump over high walls.
reed ~ plants that grow in water or by water.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
redeem ~ a member of your family buys you from an enemy.
ransom ~ to give money or goods in order to rescue someone. The word emphasises the price in order to free that person.
table ~ a way to set out information in a series of boxes.
emphasis ~ importance; something that someone wants to emphasise.
olive ~ a fruit that gives *oil.
inclusio ~ ‘something to do’ after Isaiah chapter 1 explains this word.'New Testament ~ the later part of the Bible.