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A King Will Reign Righteously

32 Behold, a (A)king will reign righteously
And princes will rule justly.
Each will be like a (B)refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like [a](C)streams of water in a dry country,
Like the (D)shade of a [b]huge rock in [c]a weary land.
Then (E)the eyes of those who see will not be [d]blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will pay attention.
And the heart of the (F)hasty will discern knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
No longer will the (G)wicked fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly,
And his heart (H)does wickedness:
To do (I)ungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh,
In order to (J)make the hungry person empty;
He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink.
As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He (K)counsels wicked schemes
To (L)wreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words,
(M)Even though the needy one speaks justly.
But (N)the noble man counsels noble plans;
And by noble plans he rises up.

Rise up, you (O)women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
(P)Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10 Within a year and a few days
You will quake, O complacent daughters;
(Q)For the grape harvest is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
(R)Quake, you complacent daughters;
(S)Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
12 (T)Beat your breasts for the desirable fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 (U)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up,
Indeed, against all the joyful houses and the (V)exultant city.
14 Because (W)the palace has been abandoned, the [e]populated (X)city forsaken.
[f]Hill and watchtower have become (Y)caves forever,
A joy for (Z)wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 Until the (AA)Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a (AB)fruitful orchard,
And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.
16 Then (AC)justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard.
17 And the (AD)work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, (AE)quietness and security forever.
18 Then my people will live in a (AF)peaceful abode,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed (AG)resting places;
19 And it will (AH)hail when the (AI)forest comes down,
And (AJ)the city will be utterly laid low.
20 How (AK)blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who [g]let out freely the ox and the donkey.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 32:2 Lit canals
  2. Isaiah 32:2 Lit heavy
  3. Isaiah 32:2 Lit an exhausted
  4. Isaiah 32:3 Or turned away
  5. Isaiah 32:14 Lit multitude of the
  6. Isaiah 32:14 Or Ophel
  7. Isaiah 32:20 Lit send out the foot of the ox

Government with Justice Predicted

32 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
    and princes will rule in justice.
Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
    a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
    like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
    and the ears of those who hear will hearken.
The mind of the rash will have good judgment,
    and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.
The fool will no more be called noble,
    nor the knave said to be honorable.
For the fool speaks folly,
    and his mind plots iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
    to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
    and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
The knaveries of the knave are evil;
    he devises wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
    even when the plea of the needy is right.
But he who is noble devises noble things,
    and by noble things he stands.

Complacent Women Warned of Disaster

Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;
    you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.
10 In little more than a year
    you will shudder, you complacent women;
for the vintage will fail,
    the fruit harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease,
    shudder, you complacent ones;
strip, and make yourselves bare,
    and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 Beat upon your breasts for the pleasant fields,
    for the fruitful vine,
13 for the soil of my people
    growing up in thorns and briers;
yea, for all the joyous houses
    in the joyful city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
    the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
    will become dens for ever,
a joy of wild asses,
    a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
    and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
    and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

The Peace of God’s Reign

16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
    and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
    and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
    in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
19 And the forest will utterly go down,[a]
    and the city will be utterly laid low.
20 Happy are you who sow beside all waters,
    who let the feet of the ox and the ass range free.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 32:19 Cn: Heb And it will hail when the forest comes down