Isaiah 35:9
in Isaiah 35No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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:
KJV
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:
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This verse in Isaiah 35
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe also sets out the security of the way: no lion shall be there, above: they shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain (Isa 11:9).
This site's exposition
No lion will be there
on Isaiah 35:9-10
The road is safe: No lion will be there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. The redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. That joy without end answers the smoke of Isaiah 34:10, which will ascend forever.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those that walk in the way of holiness may proceed with a holy security and serenity of mind, knowing that nothing can do them any real hurt; they shall be quiet from the fear of evil. It was in Hezekiah's days, some time after the captivity of the ten tribes, that God, being displeased with the colonies settled there, sent lions among them, 2 Kings xvii.
No lion shall be there,.... That is, in the way before described; no wicked persons, comparable to lions for their savage and cruel dispositions towards the people of God; for those who have been as such, as Saul before conversion, yet when brought into this way become as tame as lambs.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
No lion shall be there - Lions abounded in all the countries adjacent to Palestine. They are, therefore, often referred to by the sacred writers, as objects of dread and alarm. The leading idea in the language of Isaiah in this whole passage, is that of a way constructed from Babylon to Judea, so straight and plain that the most simple of the people might find it and walk in it. But such a path would lie through desert sands. It would be in the region infested with lions and other wild beasts.
It shall not be found there “Neither shall he be found there” - Three MSS. read ולא velo, adding the conjunction; and so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate. And four MSS., one ancient, read ימצא yimmatsa, the verb, as it certainly ought to be, in the masculine form. The redeemed shall walk there - גאולים geulim. Those whose forfeited inheritances are brought back by the kinsman, גואל goel, the nearest of kin to the family. This has been considered by all orthodox divines as referring to the incarnation of our Lord, and his sacrificial offering. After גאולים geulim, one of De Rossi’s MSS. adds עד עולם ad olam, for ever, “The redeemed shall walk there for ever.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, because they shall be gathered from the midst of their captivity; and they shall come to Zion with a song, and they shall have everlasting joy, which shall not cease, and a cloud of glory shall overshadow their heads: joy and gladness shall be found, and sorrow and sighing shall cease from them, namely, from the house of Israel.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֨ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֜ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אַרְיֵ֗ה | ʾaryeh | a lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| וּפְרִ֤יץ | uferitz | and a violent one of | H6530 → | |
| חַיּוֹת֙ | chaiyot | living creatures | H2416 → | 498 times |
| בַּֽל־ | bal- | not | H1077 → | 73 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֔נָּה | yaalenah | it will go up on it | H5927 → | 890 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִמָּצֵ֖א | timatze' | it will be found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְהָלְכ֖וּ | vehalekhu | and they will walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| גְּאוּלִֽים׃ | geulim | redeemed [people] | H1350 → | 104 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֨הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֜םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אַרְיֵ֗הa lion
ʾaryehH738 →80 times
וּפְרִ֤יץand a violent one of
uferitzH6530 →
חַיּוֹת֙living creatures
chaiyotH2416 →498 times
בַּֽל־not
bal-H1077 →73 times
יַעֲלֶ֔נָּהit will go up on it
yaalenahH5927 →890 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִמָּצֵ֖אit will be found
timatze'H4672 →455 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
וְהָלְכ֖וּand they will walk
vehalekhuH1980 →1546 times
גְּאוּלִֽים׃redeemed [people]
geulimH1350 →104 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 34:25I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:6–9
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 37:26
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Isaiah 11:6–9
Through
Isaiah 62:12And they will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of The LORD; and you will be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Isaiah 62:4
No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will…
- Deuteronomy 26:19
that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He…
- Deuteronomy 28:9
The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Isaiah 63:4For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
it leads to
- Isaiah 34:8
For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- Isaiah 35:4
Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
- Isaiah 34:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); George Adam Smith, The Book of Isaiah, Expositor's Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.