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Selected Verse: Isaiah 35:1 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 35:1	King James	The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. (Isa 35:1-10) solitary place--literally, "a dry place," without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant. for them--namely, on account of the punishment inflicted according to the preceding prophecy on the enemy; probably the blessings set forth in this chapter are included in the causes for joy (Isa 55:12). rose--rather, "the meadow-saffron," an autumnal flower with bulbous roots; so Syriac translation.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE THIRTY-FOURTH CHAPTER. (Isa 35:1-10)

solitary place--literally, "a dry place," without springs of water. A moral wilderness is meant.

for them--namely, on account of the punishment inflicted according to the preceding prophecy on the enemy; probably the blessings set forth in this chapter are included in the causes for joy (Isa 55:12).

rose--rather, "the meadow-saffron," an autumnal flower with bulbous roots; so Syriac translation.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
The wilderness and the solitary place - This is evidently figurative language, such as is often employed by the prophets. The word rendered 'solitary place' (ציה tsı̂yâh), denotes properly a dry place, a place without springs and streams of water; and as such places produce no verdure, and nothing to sustain life, the word comes to mean a desert. Such expressions are often used in the Scriptures to express moral or spiritual desolation; and in this sense evidently the phrase is used here. It does not refer to the desolations of Judea, but to all places that might be properly called a moral wilderness, or a spiritual desert; and thus aptly expresses the condition of the world that was to be benefited by the blessings foretold in this chapter. The parallel expressions in Isa 41:17-19; Isa 44:3-4, show that this is the sense in which the phrase is here used; and that the meaning is, that every situation which might be appropriately called a moral wilderness - that is, the whole pagan world - would ultimately be made glad. The sense is, that as great and happy changes would take place in regard to those desolations as if the wilderness should become a vast field producing the lily and the rose; or as if Isa 35:2 there should be imparted to such places the glory of Lebanon, and the beauty of Sharon and Carmel. Shall be glad for them - This is evidently a personification, a beautiful poetic figure, by which the wilderness is represented as expressing joy. The sense is, the desolate moral world would be filled with joy on account of the blessings which are here predicted. The phrase 'for them,' expressed in Hebrew by the affix מ (m) means, doubtless, on account of the blessings which are foretold in this prophecy. Lowth supposes, however, that the letter has been added to the word 'shall be glad' (ישׂשׂוּ yes'us'û), by mistake, because the following word (מדבר midbâr) begins with a מ (m). The reading of the present Hebrew text is followed by none of the ancient versions; but it is nevertheless probably the correct reading, and there is no authority for changing it. The sense is expressed above by the phrase 'shall rejoice on account of the things contained in this prophecy;' to wit, the destruction of all the foes of God, and the universal establishment of his kingdom. Those who wish to see a more critical examination of the words used here, may find it in Rosenmuller and Gesenius. And blossom as the rose - The word rendered 'rose' (חבצלת chăbı̂tsâleth) occurs only here and in Sol 2:1, where it is also rendered a 'rose.' The Septuagint renders it, Κρίνον Krinon 'Lily.' The Vulgate also renders it, Lilium - the lily. The Syriac renders it also by a word which signifies the lily or narcissus; or, according to the Syriac lexicographers, 'the meadow-saffron,' an autumnal flower springing from poisonous bulbous roots, and of a white and violet color. The sense is not, however, affected materially whatever be the meaning of the word. Either the rose, the lily, or the saffron, would convey the idea of beauty compared with the solitude and desolation of the desert. The word 'rose' with us, as being a flower better known, conveys a more striking image of beauty, and there is no impropriety in retaining it.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

The wilderness and the solitary place - This is evidently figurative language, such as is often employed by the prophets. The word rendered 'solitary place' (ציה tsı̂yâh), denotes properly a dry place, a place without springs and streams of water; and as such places produce no verdure, and nothing to sustain life, the word comes to mean a desert. Such expressions are often used in the Scriptures to express moral or spiritual desolation; and in this sense evidently the phrase is used here. It does not refer to the desolations of Judea, but to all places that might be properly called a moral wilderness, or a spiritual desert; and thus aptly expresses the condition of the world that was to be benefited by the blessings foretold in this chapter. The parallel expressions in Isa 41:17-19; Isa 44:3-4, show that this is the sense in which the phrase is here used; and that the meaning is, that every situation which might be appropriately called a moral wilderness - that is, the whole pagan world - would ultimately be made glad. The sense is, that as great and happy changes would take place in regard to those desolations as if the wilderness should become a vast field producing the lily and the rose; or as if Isa 35:2 there should be imparted to such places the glory of Lebanon, and the beauty of Sharon and Carmel.

Shall be glad for them - This is evidently a personification, a beautiful poetic figure, by which the wilderness is represented as expressing joy. The sense is, the desolate moral world would be filled with joy on account of the blessings which are here predicted. The phrase 'for them,' expressed in Hebrew by the affix מ (m) means, doubtless, on account of the blessings which are foretold in this prophecy. Lowth supposes, however, that the letter has been added to the word 'shall be glad' (ישׂשׂוּ yes'us'û), by mistake, because the following word (מדבר midbâr) begins with a מ (m). The reading of the present Hebrew text is followed by none of the ancient versions; but it is nevertheless probably the correct reading, and there is no authority for changing it. The sense is expressed above by the phrase 'shall rejoice on account of the things contained in this prophecy;' to wit, the destruction of all the foes of God, and the universal establishment of his kingdom. Those who wish to see a more critical examination of the words used here, may find it in Rosenmuller and Gesenius.

And blossom as the rose - The word rendered 'rose' (חבצלת chăbı̂tsâleth) occurs only here and in Sol 2:1, where it is also rendered a 'rose.' The Septuagint renders it, Κρίνον Krinon 'Lily.' The Vulgate also renders it, Lilium - the lily. The Syriac renders it also by a word which signifies the lily or narcissus; or, according to the Syriac lexicographers, 'the meadow-saffron,' an autumnal flower springing from poisonous bulbous roots, and of a white and violet color. The sense is not, however, affected materially whatever be the meaning of the word. Either the rose, the lily, or the saffron, would convey the idea of beauty compared with the solitude and desolation of the desert. The word 'rose' with us, as being a flower better known, conveys a more striking image of beauty, and there is no impropriety in retaining it.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Edom falls, never to rise again. Its land is turned into a horrible wilderness. But, on the other hand, the wilderness through which the redeemed Israel returns, is changed into a flowery field. "Gladness fills the desert and the heath; and the steppe rejoices, and flowers like the crocus. It flowers abundantly, and rejoices; yea, rejoicing and singing: the glory of Lebanon is given to it, the splendour of Carmel and the plain of Sharon; they will see the glory of Jehovah, the splendour of our God." מדבּר ישׂשׂוּם (to be accentuated with tiphchah munach, not with mercha tiphchah) has been correctly explained by Aben-Ezra. The original Nun has been assimilated to the following Mem, just as pidyōn in Num 3:49 is afterwards written pidyōm (Ewald, 91, b). The explanation given by Rashi, Gesenius, and others (laetabuntur his), is untenable, if only because sūs (sı̄s) cannot be construed with the accusative of the object (see at Isa 8:6); and to get rid of the form by correction, as Olshausen proposes, is all the more objectionable, because "the old full plural in ūn is very frequently met with before Mem" (Bttcher), in which case it may have been pronounced as it is written here. (Note: Bttcher calls ûm the oldest primitive form of the plural; but it is only a strengthening of ûn; cf., tannı̄m = tannı̄n, Hanameel = Hananeel, and such Sept. forms as Gesem, Madiam, etc. (see Hitzig on Jer 32:7). Wetzstein told me of a Bedouin tribe, in whose dialect the third pers. praet. regularly ended in m, e.g., akalum (they have eaten).) According to the Targum on Sol 2:1 (also Saad., Abulw.), the chăbhatstseleth is the narcissus; whilst the Targum on the passage before us leaves it indefinite - sicut lilia. The name (a derivative of bâtsal) points to a bulbous plant, probably the crocus and primrose, which were classed together. (Note: The crocus and the primrose (המצליתא in Syriac) may really be easily confounded, but not the narcissus and primrose, which have nothing in common except that they are bulbous plants, like most of the flowers of the East, which shoot up rapidly in the spring, as soon as the winter rains are over. But there are other colchicaceae beside our colchicum autumnale, which flowers before the leaves appear and is therefore called filius ante patrem (e.g., the eastern colchicum variegatum).) The sandy steppe would become like a lovely variegated plain covered with meadow flowers. (Note: Layard, in his Nineveh and Babylon, describes in several places the enchantingly beautiful and spring-like variation of colours which occurs in the Mesopotamian "desert;" though what the prophet had in his mind was not the real midâr, or desert of pasture land, but, as the words tsiyâh and ‛arâbhâh show, the utterly barren sandy desert.) On gı̄lath, see at Isa 33:6 (cf., Isa 65:18): the infin. noun takes the place of an inf. abs., which expresses the abstract verbal idea, though in a more rigid manner; 'aph (like gam in Gen 31:15; Gen 46:4) is an exponent of the increased emphasis already implied in the gerunds that come after. So joyful and so gloriously adorned will the barren desert, which has been hitherto so mournful, become, on account of the great things that are in store for it. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon have, as it were, shared their splendour with the desert, that all might be clothed alike in festal dress, when the glory of Jehovah, which surpasses everything self in its splendour, should appear; that glory which they would not only be privileged to behold, but of which they would be honoured to be the actual scene.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Edom falls, never to rise again. Its land is turned into a horrible wilderness. But, on the other hand, the wilderness through which the redeemed Israel returns, is changed into a flowery field. "Gladness fills the desert and the heath; and the steppe rejoices, and flowers like the crocus. It flowers abundantly, and rejoices; yea, rejoicing and singing: the glory of Lebanon is given to it, the splendour of Carmel and the plain of Sharon; they will see the glory of Jehovah, the splendour of our God." מדבּר ישׂשׂוּם (to be accentuated with tiphchah munach, not with mercha tiphchah) has been correctly explained by Aben-Ezra. The original Nun has been assimilated to the following Mem, just as pidyōn in Num 3:49 is afterwards written pidyōm (Ewald, 91, b). The explanation given by Rashi, Gesenius, and others (laetabuntur his), is untenable, if only because sūs (sı̄s) cannot be construed with the accusative of the object (see at Isa 8:6); and to get rid of the form by correction, as Olshausen proposes, is all the more objectionable, because "the old full plural in ūn is very frequently met with before Mem" (Bttcher), in which case it may have been pronounced as it is written here.

(Note: Bttcher calls ûm the oldest primitive form of the plural; but it is only a strengthening of ûn; cf., tannı̄m = tannı̄n, Hanameel = Hananeel, and such Sept. forms as Gesem, Madiam, etc. (see Hitzig on Jer 32:7). Wetzstein told me of a Bedouin tribe, in whose dialect the third pers. praet. regularly ended in m, e.g., akalum (they have eaten).)

According to the Targum on Sol 2:1 (also Saad., Abulw.), the chăbhatstseleth is the narcissus; whilst the Targum on the passage before us leaves it indefinite - sicut lilia. The name (a derivative of bâtsal) points to a bulbous plant, probably the crocus and primrose, which were classed together.

(Note: The crocus and the primrose (המצליתא in Syriac) may really be easily confounded, but not the narcissus and primrose, which have nothing in common except that they are bulbous plants, like most of the flowers of the East, which shoot up rapidly in the spring, as soon as the winter rains are over. But there are other colchicaceae beside our colchicum autumnale, which flowers before the leaves appear and is therefore called filius ante patrem (e.g., the eastern colchicum variegatum).)

The sandy steppe would become like a lovely variegated plain covered with meadow flowers.

(Note: Layard, in his Nineveh and Babylon, describes in several places the enchantingly beautiful and spring-like variation of colours which occurs in the Mesopotamian "desert;" though what the prophet had in his mind was not the real midâr, or desert of pasture land, but, as the words tsiyâh and ‛arâbhâh show, the utterly barren sandy desert.)

On gı̄lath, see at Isa 33:6 (cf., Isa 65:18): the infin. noun takes the place of an inf. abs., which expresses the abstract verbal idea, though in a more rigid manner; 'aph (like gam in Gen 31:15; Gen 46:4) is an exponent of the increased emphasis already implied in the gerunds that come after. So joyful and so gloriously adorned will the barren desert, which has been hitherto so mournful, become, on account of the great things that are in store for it. Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon have, as it were, shared their splendour with the desert, that all might be clothed alike in festal dress, when the glory of Jehovah, which surpasses everything self in its splendour, should appear; that glory which they would not only be privileged to behold, but of which they would be honoured to be the actual scene.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
The solitary place - Emmanuel's land, or the seat of God's church and people, which formerly was despised like a wilderness, and which the rage of their enemies had brought to desolation, shall flourish exceedingly.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Shall be glad - יששום yesusum; in one MS. the מ mem seems to have been added; and שום sum is upon a rasure in another. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it; it seems to have been a mistake, arising from the next word beginning with the same letter. Seventeen MSS. have ישושום yesusum, both vaus expressed; and five MSS. יששם yesusum, without the vaus. Probably the true reading is, "The wilderness and the dry place shall be glad. "Not for them.

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¹² For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

¹ The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
² It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
³ Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
⁴ 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.
⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
⁶ Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
⁷ And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
⁸ And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
⁹ No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
¹⁰ And 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, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

¹ I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

² It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

³ For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
⁴ And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

¹⁷ When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:

⁴ I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

¹⁵ Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

¹⁸ But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

⁶ And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

¹ I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

⁷ Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

⁶ Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

⁴⁹ And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: