The big picture
Isaiah 35 answers the wasteland of the preceding chapter with a transformation so complete that the same kinds of places now rejoice, bloom, carry water, and become passable. The wilderness receives the beauty of Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon, while weak hands, feeble knees, blind eyes, deaf ears, lame legs, and silent tongues all participate in the same reversal. Restoration is not scenery added around unchanged people. Bodies and ground recover together. The chapter then gives the renewed landscape a destination: Zion. A highway crosses the wilderness, protected from danger and identified with holiness, so the return is not merely escape from somewhere bad but movement toward restored belonging. The Book of Isaiah makes vengeance and salvation two sides of one divine coming, depending on what threatens whom. By the end, sorrow and sighing are the fugitives. The people who once fled are now the ones arriving, singing, while the things that marked displacement are the things driven away.
Central truth
Isaiah 35 answers the desolation of the previous chapter with a wilderness that blossoms, weak people strengthened by the promise that God will come and save, damaged bodies restored, and the redeemed returning to Zion on a holy highway where sorrow gives way to joy.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Isaiah 35:1: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
Slow down at the turning point
Isaiah 35:5: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”
Keep this word trail visible
blossom, desert, excellency, glory, LORD, rejoice
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Isaiah 35:1-2
The desert answers the ruin
Begin by reading 34:13-15 and then 35:1-2 without a break, so the class feels the turn. The same kind of wild, empty place that swallowed Edom now rejoices and blossoms. Explain Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon as the forested and fertile regions Israel admired, so the desert is given the best the land can offer. Then point to the end of 35:2: "they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God". Teach this first because the flowers are not the point; they are the setting for God's appearing.
Isaiah 35:3-4
Courage given by news
Read 35:3-4 as an instruction to the community: strengthen the weak, steady the shaking, speak to the fearful. Then show what they are to say: "behold, your God will come". Explain "vengeance" and "recompence" in the light of 34:8: God comes to set right what was done to his people, and that is why his coming is salvation for them. Teach it second because it shows that everything after it, healing, water, road and return, flows from this one announcement of God's coming.
Isaiah 35:5-7
Bodies and land restored
Read 35:5-6 and mark the double "Then". Blind, deaf, lame and mute are each named and each restored, the lame man leaping like a deer. Then the land: waters break out, parched ground becomes a pool, and in "the habitation of dragons", the jackals' den of 34:13, grass and reeds grow. Read Matthew 11:4-5, where Jesus answers John the Baptist's question with these very signs. Teach this with care for anyone in the room living with disability, as promise and dignity, never as reproach.
Isaiah 35:8-9
The way of holiness
Read 35:8-9. Explain the highway as a raised road built for travel, like the highway of 11:16 and the prepared way of 40:3. Its name is "The way of holiness": it belongs to God and leads to his dwelling. Explain the King James phrase "though fools, shall not err therein" as meaning that even simple travellers will not lose the way. Then read the removal of danger and the word "redeemed", people bought back. Teach this here because it shows how the rescued get home: on God's own road, made safe by him.
Isaiah 35:10
Ransomed and home
Read 35:10 slowly and let the class hear its four movements: return, songs, everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow fleeing away. Explain "ransomed" as freed at a price, the language of release from slavery, and "upon their heads" as joy worn like a garland. Show that 51:11 repeats the verse almost exactly, so the Book of Isaiah links this return with the return from Babylon and beyond it. Teach it last because the whole chapter has been travelling toward Zion, and this verse arrives.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"If someone is not healed, they did not have enough faith."
Isaiah 35:5-6 ties healing to God's coming in 35:4, "he will come and save you", not to the faith or effort of the sick. Jesus pointed to these signs in Matthew 11:4-5 as evidence of who he was. The full restoration the chapter describes belongs to the return of the ransomed in 35:10. Never use this passage to blame anyone for an illness or a disability.
"Verses 3-4 mean: just try harder and be brave."
The command "Be strong, fear not" is followed at once by its reason, "behold, your God will come" (35:4). The community strengthens weak hands by telling one another what God will do, not by demanding more effort. Hebrews 12:12 uses the same words to encourage tired believers with God's purposes. Keep courage attached to the promise.
"The way of holiness is only for people who are already perfect."
The road is for "the redeemed" (35:9) and "the ransomed of the LORD" (35:10), people who have been bought back, not people who earned their place. It is so plain that "the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (35:8). The unclean do not walk it because it belongs to God, but the way onto it is redemption. Teach holiness as the road's destination and owner.
"This chapter is only about scenery and nature."
The land blossoms in 35:1-2, but the chapter's centre is people: weak hands, fearful hearts, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the mute, the redeemed walking and the ransomed returning. The desert flowers so that "they shall see the glory of the LORD". Creation and people are restored together, and the purpose of both is God's appearing among his people.
Learning objectives
- Describe the transformation of wilderness, desert, and parched ground in Isaiah 35:1–7.
- Explain why verses 3–4 command strong hands and steady knees by pointing to God's coming rather than to human self-confidence.
- Identify the specific bodily restorations named in verses 5–6 and connect them to the arrival of salvation in verse 4.
- Explain the 'way of holiness' in verse 8 using the passage's own descriptions of who travels it and who does not.
- Trace the repeated safety language in verses 8–9, including the absence of ravenous beasts and the promise that the redeemed will walk there.
- Show how verse 10 completes the chapter by replacing sorrow and sighing with everlasting joy and gladness.
Teacher preparation
- Read Isaiah 34 immediately before Isaiah 35.
- Mark Lebanon, Carmel, Sharon, and Zion on a map or note their associations with fertility, beauty, and Jerusalem.
- Prepare the KJV phrase 'an highway shall be there, and a way' in verse 8.
- Review verses 5–6 alongside Matthew 11:4–5, where Jesus points to the blind seeing, lame walking, deaf hearing, and good news as signs of his ministry.
- Plan to read verse 10 aloud twice.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Isaiah 35:1–2 says the wilderness and desert will rejoice and blossom.
Scripture-supported
Matthew 11:4–5 supports a messianic reading of the healing signs because Jesus himself points to closely matching works in answer to the question about the coming one.
Strong inference
Because bodily healing, renewed land, safe travel, holiness, redemption, and return all appear together, infer that Isaiah's salvation is deliberately comprehensive.
Possible or traditional reading
Christian readers commonly see Isaiah 35 as messianic and ultimately eschatological, especially in light of Jesus' use of its healing imagery.
Limit
Do not promise that every faithful person will experience immediate physical healing in the present age simply because Isaiah 35 names restored bodies.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What changes in the wilderness between Isaiah 34 and Isaiah 35:1–2?
What a good answer contains
In chapter 34 the land became pitch, brimstone and thorns, "an habitation of dragons" (34:13). In 35:1-2 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad", the desert will "blossom as the rose", and it receives "the glory of Lebanon" and "the excellency of Carmel and Sharon", the most fertile places Israel knew. A good answer names the reversal and the climax, "they shall see the glory of the LORD". A weak answer sees only nicer scenery.
Show teacher guidance
Name the contrast plainly: desolation becomes gladness, blossom, abundance, and visible glory.
2. In verses 3–4, what reason is given for strengthening weak hands and feeble knees?
What a good answer contains
The reason is God's coming: "Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you" (35:4). The weak hands and feeble knees of 35:3 are strengthened by news, not by effort. A good answer keeps courage tied to the announcement that God will come. It also notes that Hebrews 12:12 takes up 35:3 to encourage tired believers. A weak answer turns the verse into a pep talk.
Show teacher guidance
The reason is not 'try harder.' The text says, 'Behold, your God will come' and 'he will come and save you.' Keep courage attached to God's action.
3. Which four human limitations are reversed in verses 5–6?
What a good answer contains
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (35:5), and "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (35:6). Sight, hearing, walking and speech are restored. A good answer notices the word "Then": the healings follow God's coming in 35:4. It also sees that the land and the body are healed together, since 35:6 continues with waters breaking out in the wilderness.
Show teacher guidance
Expect blind eyes, deaf ears, lame legs, and a silent or dumb tongue.
4. What makes the highway in verse 8 a 'way of holiness' rather than merely a safe road?
What a good answer contains
It belongs to God and to his people: "it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those" (35:8). Holiness marks who the road is for and where it goes, to Zion. A good answer adds the surprising line that "the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein": the road is safe because it is plain, not because its travellers are clever. A weak answer makes the road a test only perfect people pass.
Show teacher guidance
Use the verse's moral and covenant language: the unclean do not pass over it, it belongs to the redeemed route, and verse 9 continues with the redeemed walking there.
5. Why mention that no lion or ravenous beast will be on the road in verse 9?
What a good answer contains
Because travel in the ancient world meant danger from wild animals and robbers. "No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon" (35:9). The fearful journey becomes safe, and the verse ends "but the redeemed shall walk there". A good answer says the image removes the threats that made the road home impossible, and contrasts it with the wild creatures that took over Edom in 34:13-15.
Show teacher guidance
The image removes the ordinary danger of travel.
6. What exactly flees away in verse 10, and what takes its place?
What a good answer contains
The verse ends with "sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (35:10). In their place "the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness". A good answer notices the picture of joy worn like a crown, and that sorrow is the one that runs. It notes the same verse returns as 51:11. A weak answer says sorrow is simply forgotten; the verse says it is driven out.
Show teacher guidance
Sorrow and sighing flee.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Ask the class to rewrite the logic of verses 3–4 as two columns: condition and reason for courage.
Relationships and community
Give a group the task of encouraging a fictional person described only as 'fearful heart.' Require every encouraging sentence to be built from Isaiah 35 rather than from generic reassurance.
The road home
Place 'desert,' 'healing,' 'highway,' and 'Zion' in order on the board.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Feel the contrast
Read 34:13-15 and then 35:1-2. Ask question one.
Courage given
Read 35:3-4. Ask question two and use confusion two.
Healing and water
Read 35:5-7 and Matthew 11:4-5. Ask question three and use confusion one with care.
The road home
Read 35:8-9. Ask questions four and five, and use confusion three.
Arrive at Zion
Read 35:10 slowly. Ask question six. Give out the handout and read the key verse together before praying.
90 minutes
After a long drought
Ask what the first rain after a long drought looks and smells like. Let learners describe it.
From jackals to roses
Read 34:9-15 and 35:1-2 together. Ask question one and confusion four.
Say to the fearful
Read 35:3-4 and Hebrews 12:12. Ask question two and confusion two. Ask who in the group's life has weak hands right now, without names.
Then the eyes
Read 35:5-7 and Matthew 11:2-6. Ask question three. Use confusion one gently and give room for questions.
The highway
Read 35:8-9 with 11:16 and 40:3. Ask questions four and five and confusion three.
Ransomed and returning
Read 35:10 and 51:11. Ask question six. Explain ransomed as freed at a price.
Strengthen one another
In pairs, write the words of 35:4 on a card for someone the learner knows who is afraid, and decide when to give it.
Handout and song
Read the key verse together and close with a hymn or a prayer of thanks for the road home.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Show a sequence of pictures: dry ground, flowers, water, a safe road, people walking home singing. Let the children act out the healings of 35:5-6, opening eyes, cupping ears, leaping like a deer, singing. Teach 35:4 as the reason: God will come and save. Avoid suggesting that any child with a disability is waiting to be fixed; speak of God making everything whole.
Youth
Contrast motivational slogans with 35:4: one says try harder, the other says your God will come. Ask which one actually helps a frightened friend. Read Matthew 11:2-6 and discuss why Jesus answered John's doubt with this chapter. Talk about the road as one built by God for people who could not find their own way.
Adults
Explore the chapter as the answer to Isaiah 34 and as a preview of chapters 40 to 55, the highway, the return and the ransomed. Discuss Matthew 11 and how Jesus' signs relate to the full restoration the chapter promises. Give attention to adults living with disability, chronic illness or caring for someone, and let the passage speak as hope rather than pressure.
One to one
Read 35:1-10 together and ask which line the person most wants to be true for them. If they are afraid, read 35:4 directly to them as words they are allowed to hear. If they are ill or disabled, do not promise a timetable for healing; point to the God who will come, and to sorrow fleeing away.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Isaiah 35:1–10
The passage in brief
Isaiah 35 turns from the ruin of chapter 34 to joy. The desert blossoms and everyone sees the glory of the LORD. People with weak hands and fearful hearts are told to be strong, because God will come and save them. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap and the mute sing, and water breaks out in dry ground. A safe road called the way of holiness leads God's rescued people home to Zion, singing, while sorrow runs away.
A verse to keep
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Isaiah 35:4 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What reason does 35:4 give for not being afraid?
How did Jesus use 35:5-6 in Matthew 11:4-5?
What flees away in 35:10, and what takes its place?
This week
Say the words of 35:4 to one fearful person this week, in a note, a call or a visit.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
