Pre-Lent · Quinquagesima Sunday
Isaiah 35:3-7
Joy of the Redeemed
February 15, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened… and the ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing.” (Isaiah 35:5, 10)
While chapter 33 looks back and reworks the message of the book so far, it does so in a way that points forward and emphasizes the wondrous reversal and restoration that Yahweh will bring about. Since the second half of the book is more renewal-focused, chapter 33 thus also anticipates this material. Chapters 34–35 then mirror chapter 33. They have one eye to what has preceded, but they more explicitly point to what will come, introducing us to themes to be developed in the second half of the book. We will see that chapters 36–39 are stories that talk about Isaiah and were therefore hardly written by him, while chapters 40–66 presuppose a later context than Isaiah’s day and are presumably the words of later prophets.
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Commentary
Background & Word Study
Isaiah 35:3 Commentaries BibleHub
Parallel classic commentaries and Hebrew word study on the passage.
Isaiah 35 in Hebrew Sefaria
The Hebrew text with classical Jewish commentary on the desert blooming.
Isaiah 1-39 overview BibleProject
Visual overview of first Isaiah, the setting for the highway of the redeemed.
Worship & Prayers
Questions preachers ask
What is the joy of Isaiah 35?
The desert blooms and a highway of holiness opens for the redeemed to come to Zion with everlasting joy, and sorrow and sighing flee away.
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