17. As the saying goes, before long the dense forest will become farmland, and the farmland will go back to forest.
18. When that day comes, the deaf will be able to hear a book being read aloud, and the blind, who have been living in darkness, will open their eyes and see.
19. Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the Lord, the holy God of Israel, gives.
20. It will be the end of those who oppress others and show contempt for God. Every sinner will be destroyed.
21. God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest men from getting justice.
22. So now the Lord, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, “My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame.