Isaiah 32
New American Standard Bible
The Glorious Future
32 Behold, a (A)king will reign righteously,
And officials will rule justly.
2 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 an exhausted land.
3 Then (E)the eyes of those who see will not be [c]blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 The [d]mind of the (F)rash will discern the [e]truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.
5 No longer will the (G)fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
6 For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart [f](H)inclines toward wickedness:
To practice (I)ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,
To [g](J)keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And [h]to withhold drink from the thirsty.
7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He (K)devises wicked schemes
To (L)destroy the poor with [i]slander,
(M)Even though the needy one speaks [j]what is right.
8 But (N)the noble person devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.
9 Rise up, you (O)women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
(P)Listen to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10 Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, you complacent daughters;
(Q)For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
(R)Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
(S)Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
12 (T)Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 (U)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up;
Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the (V)jubilant city.
14 For (W)the palace has been neglected, the [k]populated (X)city abandoned.
[l]Hill and watch-tower have become (Y)caves forever,
A delight 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)fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
16 Then (AC)justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.
17 And the (AD)work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, (AE)quietness and [m]confidence forever.
18 Then my people will live in a (AF)peaceful settlement,
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 [n]let the ox and the donkey out freely.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:2 Lit canals
- Isaiah 32:2 Lit heavy
- Isaiah 32:3 Or turned away
- Isaiah 32:4 Lit heart
- Isaiah 32:4 Lit knowledge
- Isaiah 32:6 Or does
- Isaiah 32:6 Lit make empty the hungry soul
- Isaiah 32:6 Lit he deprives the thirsty
- Isaiah 32:7 Lit words of falsehood
- Isaiah 32:7 Lit justly
- Isaiah 32:14 Lit multitude of the
- Isaiah 32:14 Or Ophel
- Isaiah 32:17 Or security
- Isaiah 32:20 Lit send out the foot of the ox
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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