Isaiah 32
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Righteous Kingdom
32
See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and officials will govern with justice.
2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water for a dry place,
like the shade of a massive cliff in a parched land.
3 The eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Hasty hearts[a] will gain understanding,
and stammering tongues will speak clearly.
5 The fool will no longer be called noble,
nor will rogues be treated like respectable people.[b]
6 The fool speaks folly,
and his heart plots evil:
to do what is ungodly,
to tell lies about the Lord,
to deny food to the hungry,
and to refuse even one drink for the thirsty.
7 The rogue’s ways are evil.
He plots evil to ruin the humble with lies,
even when the poor speak with justice.
8 But the noble man plans noble deeds,
and by noble deeds he stands.
Judgment and Restoration
9 Get up, you complacent women, and listen!
You carefree girls, hear what I have to say!
10 In a little more than a year, you carefree women will be worried,
because the grape harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
11 Tremble, you complacent women!
Be worried, you carefree girls!
Strip yourselves naked,
and put sackcloth around your waist.
12 Beat your breasts in mourning
for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines,
13 because my people’s land will yield only thorns and briers.
Weep for all the houses where you partied,
in the city where you celebrated.
14 Then the fortress will be abandoned.
The crowded city will be deserted.
The citadel and the watchtower will become
rugged ruins[c] for a long time,
enjoyed by wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks,
15 until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness will live in the fertile field.
17 The result of righteousness will be peace,
and righteousness will bring lasting tranquility and security.
18 My people will live in a peaceful place,
in secure dwellings,
and in quiet resting places.
19 Even if hail destroys the forest,
or if the city is totally leveled,
20 how blessed you will be,
as you sow seed beside streams,
and let your cattle and donkeys run free.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:4 Or rash minds
- Isaiah 32:5 Or celebrities
- Isaiah 32:14 Or animals’ dens
Isaiah 32
Lexham English Bible
The Kingdom of Righteousness
32 See, a king will rule according to righteousness,
and princes will rule according to justice.
2 And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind
and a covering from the rainstorm,
like streams of water in a dry region,
like the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,[a]
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 And the minds[b] of the rash will understand knowledge,[c]
and the tongues[d] of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
5 A fool will no longer be called noble,
and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.
6 For a fool speaks folly,
and his mind[e] does iniquity:
to behave wickedly,[f]
and to speak error concerning Yahweh,
to leave the throat of the hungry empty,
and he deprives the thirsty of drink.
7 And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil;
he plans evil devices
to ruin the poor with words of deception
even[g] when the speech of the needy is right.
8 But[h] the nobleman plans noble things,
and he stands upon noble things.
Against the Carefree Women
9 Women who are at ease, rise up; hear my voice!
Carefree daughters, listen to my word!
10 In a year[i] you will tremble, carefree ones,
for the vintage will come to an end;
the harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you who are at ease;
tremble, carefree ones;
strip, and strip yourself,
and gird yourself on your loins,[j]
12 mourning over breasts,
over fields of delight,
over the fruitful vine,
13 over the soil of my people.
It goes up in thorns[k] and briers,[l]
indeed over all of the houses of joy in the jubilant city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
the crowded city[m] deserted;
the hill and the watchtower will become[n] a cave forever,
the joy of wild asses, a pasture for[o] flocks.
15 Until a spirit is poured out on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is reckoned as the forest.
16 Then[p] justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,
and the work of righteousness, quietness and security forever.
18 And my people will dwell in a settlement of peace
and in a dwelling place of security
and in undisturbed resting places.
19 And it hails when the forest comes down,[q]
and the city will become low in humiliation.
20 Happy are you who sow by all waters,
who let the foot of the ox and the donkey go free.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:3 The same consonants with different vowels would be translated “be blinded,” which fits the context better
- Isaiah 32:4 Literally “heart”
- Isaiah 32:4 Literally “to know”
- Isaiah 32:4 Hebrew “tongue”
- Isaiah 32:6 Literally “heart”
- Isaiah 32:6 Literally “do ungodliness”
- Isaiah 32:7 Or “and”
- Isaiah 32:8 Or “And”
- Isaiah 32:10 Literally “In days upon a year”
- Isaiah 32:11 Although the carefree and at ease addressees in this verse are feminine plural (“you women”), the commands are masculine singular in form
- Isaiah 32:13 Hebrew “thorn”
- Isaiah 32:13 Hebrew “brier”
- Isaiah 32:14 Literally “crowd of the city”
- Isaiah 32:14 The Hebrew text has “for the benefit of” following “become”
- Isaiah 32:14 Literally “of”
- Isaiah 32:16 Or “And”
- Isaiah 32:19 Literally “the coming down of the forest”
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