God was going to do a new thing for Israel, something that would appear unexpectedly, like a sprout from barren soil. The Israelites would become aware of it even though they had no knowledge of it at that time. He would do for the captives in Babylon what He had done for their ancestors in Egypt, namely, make a highway for them through the wilderness and provide them with water (cf. Exodus 17). Instead of turning a sea into dry land, He would turn the dry land into waterways (cf. Isaiah 35:6-7). These images picture a second Exodus. Even the animals would acknowledge God"s greatness as they observed His acts and benefited from His goodness to His people. [source][source][source]
"Here we see the acts of God bringing the whole world into harmony, a feature which will be perfected in the Messianic day ( Isaiah 11:6-9171426263173). Here, the journeying people are met by a transformed world (19cd) into which the animal creation gladly enters with benefit." [2][source]
One writer took the water as symbolic of God"s sustaining provision for the Jews, and the animals as figures representing Gentile nations that will benefit from the witness of the restored Jews. [3][source]