Isaiah 35:9 Commentary: The Redeemed Walk Safely on the Holy Way

Isaiah 35 sits as a bright reversal of the judgment oracle in chapter 34. Where Edom becomes a haunt of wild creatures (34:14), Zion’s highway is purged of every threat. The immediate backdrop is the exiles’ return from Babylon, a journey across hundreds of miles of desert where lions, leopards, and other dangerous animals actually roamed (Barnes; see also Isaiah 30:6). Ancient Near Eastern travel accounts routinely mention the danger of predatory beasts on caravan routes.

The “highway” (מְסִלָּה, v. 8) echoes the earlier prophecy of a way prepared for the Lord in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). But here it is called “the Holy Way,” reserved for the clean, not for the unclean or for fools. The lion and ravenous beast are not merely physical threats; the Targum interprets them as “a king doing evil, nor an oppressive governor” (quoted by Gill), linking the imagery to political persecution experienced by Israel.

Behind the promise stands the covenant: “I will remove evil animals out of the land” (Leviticus 26:6). Hosea 2:18 expands the covenant to include a peace treaty with the beasts of the field. Isaiah 11:6, 9 envisions a world where the wolf and lamb lie together, a reversal of the curse. The “redeemed” (גְּאוּלִים) use the language of the goel, the kinsman who restores family property (Clarke). Their walk is not a hurried escape but a triumphant procession toward Zion, capped with everlasting joy (v. 10). Thus the historical situation of return becomes a canvas for a much larger hope.

The Hebrew text is stable. Adam Clarke notes that three manuscripts read wĕlō (adding the conjunction “and”) before “not,” and four manuscripts read the verb yimmāṣē’ in masculine form. Neither variant changes the sense. The verse’s threefold negation, “no lion … nor any ravenous beast … not be found”, is emphatic in all witnesses.

From the early church through the Reformation, Isaiah 35:9 has been read as a promise of the Messiah’s redemptive work. Origen and Jerome saw the lion as a figure of the devil defeated by Christ, and the “redeemed” as the church. Medieval interpreters often linked the Holy Way with the “Way of Holiness” in 35:8 and the via purgativa of the spiritual life. Calvin and the Geneva Bible applied the verse to the believer’s journey, with God removing every obstacle. In hymnody, the line “No lion shall be there” appears in several 19th-century gospel songs about heaven, reinforcing the hope of eternal safety. Jewish tradition (Targum, Jarchi) interpreted the lion as Nebuchadnezzar or evil kings, grounding the verse in the historical deliverance from Babylon.

Three-point outline

1. Every Danger Removed. The lion and the ravenous beast, whatever threatens God’s people, are barred from the Holy Way. The triple negative leaves no room for fear.
2. A Path Made Secure. The highway is not only straight and clear but protected. God himself escorts his people through the wilderness.
3. A People Redeemed. Only the redeemed walk there, those whose forfeited inheritance is restored by the Kinsman-Redeemer.

Five-point outline

1. What threatens us: The lion symbolizes real dangers, persecution, spiritual attack, overwhelming fear. The “ravenous beast” intensifies the picture of predatory evil.
2. What God removes: Not all hardship, but that which would destroy. The old enemies that once blocked the way are gone.
3. What the way is like: Holy, elevated, secure. Even the simple cannot get lost on it (v. 8). It is not a path we make but one God provides.
4. Who walks there: The redeemed, those ransomed by the Lord. The word gāʾal carries family-rescue overtones: redemption is personal, costly, and permanent.
5. Where it leads: Zion, joy, the end of sorrow and sighing (v. 10). The verse is the middle of a movement that ends in celebration.

Illustration hooks

• Walking home through a neighborhood known for gang activity, but your father escorts you the whole way. No one dares approach.
• A GPS route that reroutes you around a wildfire, flood, or road closure. The map shows a safe corridor you didn’t know existed.
• An online banking site that blocks fraudulent transactions before they complete. You never see the threat, but protection is active.

Questions your congregation is asking

• What “lions” am I still afraid of, even though I’m on God’s path?
• Does this verse guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to Christians?
• How can I know for sure that I am among “the redeemed” who get to walk this way?

This verse paints a picture of total safety on God’s highway. Yet many believers still live with fear. The goal of this study is not to pretend dangers don’t exist, but to see that God has dealt with them decisively. The Holy Way is open, and only the redeemed travel it.

Discussion questions

1. Read Isaiah 35:8, 10. What images stand out to you about the highway? How would the original exiles have heard these words?
2. What “lions” or “ravenous beasts” threaten God’s people today? List specific fears, in your life, your church, or your community.
3. The verse says three times that danger will not be present. Why does God emphasize this so heavily? What does it reveal about his character?
4. Who are the “redeemed” in this context? Look up the Hebrew word gāʾal (kinsman-redeemer). How does that shape your understanding of salvation?
5. Compare this verse with Isaiah 11:6 and Leviticus 26:6. What covenant promise stands behind this image of safety?
6. How do you reconcile this promise of safety with real experiences of suffering, persecution, or spiritual attack? Is the promise purely future, or is there a present reality?
7. What difference does it make to know that you are “the redeemed” and that God himself escorts you on the way? How might this change your prayers this week?