Isaiah 32
Easy-to-Read Version
Leaders Should Be Good and Fair
32 Listen to what I say! A king should rule in a way that brings justice. Leaders should make fair decisions when they lead the people. 2 If this would happen, the king[a] would be like a shelter to hide from the wind and rain, like streams of water in a dry land, and like the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot land. 3 Then people would actually see what they look at. They would actually listen to what they hear. 4 People who are now confused would be able to understand. Those who cannot speak clearly now would be able to speak clearly and quickly. 5 Fools would not be called great men. People would not respect men who make secret plans.
6 Fools[b] say foolish things, and in their minds they plan evil things to do. They want to do what is wrong. They say bad things about the Lord. They don’t let hungry people eat their food. They don’t let thirsty people drink the water. 7 They use evil like a tool and plan ways to steal from the poor. They tell lies about the poor and keep them from being judged fairly.
8 But a good leader plans good things to do, and that will make him a leader over other leaders.
Hard Times Are Coming
9 Some of you women are calm now; you feel safe. But you should stand and listen to the words I say. 10 You feel safe now, but after one year you will be troubled. That is because you will not gather grapes next year—there will be no grapes to gather.
11 Women, you are calm now, but you should be afraid. You feel safe now, but you should be worried. Take off your nice clothes and put on sackcloth. Wrap it around your waist. 12 Beat your breasts in sorrow. Cry because your fields are empty. Your vineyards once gave grapes, but now they are empty. 13 Cry for the land of my people. Cry because only thorns and weeds will grow there. Cry for the city and for all the houses that were once filled with joy.
14 People will leave the capital city. The palace and towers will be left empty. People will not live in houses—they will live in caves. Wild donkeys and sheep will live in the city—animals will go there to eat grass.
15 This will continue until God gives us his Spirit from above. Then the desert will become rich farmland and the farmland will be like thick forests. 16 That is, what is now a desert will be filled with right decisions, and what is now a farmland will be filled with justice. 17 That justice will bring peace and safety forever. 18 My people will be safe in their homes and in their calm, peaceful fields.
19 But before this happens, the forest must fall and the city must be torn down. 20 Some of you live away from the cities. You plant seeds by every stream and let your cattle and donkeys roam free. You will be very blessed.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:2 king Literally, “man.”
- Isaiah 32:6 Fools Here, this means people who don’t follow God and his wise teachings.
Isaiah 32
Living Bible
32 Look, a righteous King is coming, with honest princes! 2 He will shelter Israel from the storm and wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cooling shadow of a mighty rock within a hot and weary land. 3 Then at last the eyes of Israel will open wide to God; his people will listen to his voice. 4 Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding, and those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly.
5 In those days the ungodly, the atheists, will not be heroes! Wealthy cheaters will not be spoken of as generous, outstanding men! 6 Everyone will recognize an evil man when he sees him, and hypocrites will fool no one at all. Their lies about God and their cheating of the hungry will be plain for all to see. 7 The smooth tricks of evil men will be exposed, as will all the lies they use to oppress the poor in the courts. 8 But good men will be generous to others and will be blessed of God for all they do.
9 Listen, you women who loll around in lazy ease; listen to me and I will tell you your reward: 10 In a short time—in just a little more than a year—suddenly you’ll care, O careless ones. For the crops of fruit will fail; the harvest will not take place. 11 Tremble, O women of ease; throw off your unconcern. Strip off your pretty clothes—wear sackcloth for your grief. 12 Beat your breasts in sorrow for those bountiful farms of yours that will soon be gone, and for those fruitful vines of other years. 13 For your lands will thrive with thorns and briars; your joyous homes and happy cities will be gone. 14 Palaces and mansions will all be deserted, the crowded cities empty. Wild herds of donkeys and goats will graze upon the mountains where the watchtowers are, 15 until at last the Spirit is poured down on us from heaven. Then once again enormous crops will come. 16 Then justice will rule through all the land, 17 and out of justice, peace. Quietness and confidence will reign forever more.
18 My people will live in safety, quietly at home, 19 but the Assyrians[a] will be destroyed and their cities laid low. 20 And God will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant, bountiful crops will spring up, and their flocks and herds will graze in green pastures.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 32:19 but the Assyrians, implied.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.