ישעיהו לב-לו: הפרחת השממה

The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad; And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 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, The excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, And make firm the tottering knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart: ‘Be strong, fear not’; Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, And the tongue of the dumb shall sing; For in the wilderness shall waters break out, And streams in the desert. And the parched land shall become a pool, And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the habitation of jackals herds shall lie down, It shall be an enclosure for reeds and rushes. And a 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, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, They shall not be found there; But the redeemed shall walk there; And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come with singing unto Zion, And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And they said unto Moses: ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke unto thee in Egypt, saying: Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’

Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the LORD: I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.