3  For the Lord ^fcomforts Zion;

he comforts all her waste places

and makes her wilderness like ^gEden,

her desert like ^hthe garden of the Lord;

ⁱjoy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

5  ^bThen the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

6  ^bthen shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

^cFor waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

7  ^dthe burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of ^ejackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.