Lætabitur deserta et invia, et exsultabit solitudo, et florebit quasi lilium.

Thrills the barren desert with rejoicing; the wilderness takes heart, and blossoms, fair as the lily.

The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.

Germinans germinabit, et exsultabit lætabunda et laudans: gloria Libani data est ei, decor Carmeli et Saron; ipsi videbunt gloriam Domini, et decorem Dei nostri.

Blossom on blossom, it will rejoice and sing for joy; all the majesty of Lebanon is bestowed on it, all the grace of Carmel and of Saron. All alike shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.

It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.

Confortate manus dissolutas, et genua debilia roborate.

Stiffen, then, the sinews of drooping hand and flagging knee;

Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.

Dicite pusillanimis: Confortamini, et nolite timere: ecce Deus vester ultionem adducet retributionis; Deus ipse veniet, et salvabit vos.

give word to the faint-hearted, Take courage, and have no fear; see where your Lord is bringing redress for your wrongs, God himself, coming to deliver you!

Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you.

Tunc aperientur oculi cæcorum, et aures surdorum patebunt;

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and deaf ears unsealed;

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

tunc saliet sicut cervus claudus, et aperta erit lingua mutorum: quia scissæ sunt in deserto aquæ, et torrentes in solitudine;

the lame man, then, shall leap as the deer leap, the speechless tongue cry aloud. Springs will gush out in the wilderness, streams flow through the desert;

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness.

et quæ erat arida, erit in stagnum, et sitiens in fontes aquarum. In cubilibus, in quibus prius dracones habitabant, orietur viror calami et junci.

ground that was dried up will give place to pools, barren land to wells of clear water; where the serpent had its lair once, reed and bulrush will show their green.

And that which was dry land, shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the dens where dragons dwelt before, shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush.

Et erit ibi semita et via, et via sancta vocabitur: non transibit per eam pollutus, et hæc erit vobis directa via, ita ut stulti non errent per eam.

A high road will stretch across it, by divine proclamation kept holy; none that is defiled may travel on it; and there you shall find a straight path lying before you, wayfarer is none so foolish he can go astray.

And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way, so that fools shall not err therein.

Non erit ibi leo, et mala bestia non ascendet per eam, nec invenietur ibi; et ambulabunt qui liberati fuerint.

No lions shall molest it, no beasts of prey venture on it. Free men shall walk on it,

No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor be found there: but they shall walk there that shall be delivered.

Et redempti a Domino convertentur, et venient in Sion cum laude, et lætitia sempiterna super caput eorum: gaudium et lætitiam obtinebunt, et fugiet dolor et gemitus.

coming home again to Sion, and praising the Lord for their ransoming. Eternal happiness crowns them, joy and happiness in their grasp now, sorrow and sighing fled far away.

And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.