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And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,[a]
    and the ears of those who hear will listen.
And the minds[b] of the rash will understand knowledge,[c]
    and the tongues[d] of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
    and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.
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.
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.
But[h] the nobleman plans noble things,
    and he stands upon noble things.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 32:3 The same consonants with different vowels would be translated “be blinded,” which fits the context better
  2. Isaiah 32:4 Literally “heart”
  3. Isaiah 32:4 Literally “to know”
  4. Isaiah 32:4 Hebrew “tongue”
  5. Isaiah 32:6 Literally “heart”
  6. Isaiah 32:6 Literally “do ungodliness”
  7. Isaiah 32:7 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 32:8 Or “And”

Eyes[a] will no longer be blind[b]
and ears[c] will be attentive.
The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment,[d]
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
For a fool speaks disgraceful things;[e]
his mind plans out sinful deeds.[f]
He commits godless deeds[g]
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite[h]
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink.[i]
A deceiver’s methods are evil;[j]
he dreams up evil plans[k]
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right.[l]
An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security.[m]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 32:3 tn Heb “Eyes that see.”
  2. Isaiah 32:3 tn The Hebrew text as vocalized reads literally “will not gaze,” but this is contradictory to the context. The verb form should be revocalized as תְּשֹׁעֶינָה (teshoʿenah) from שָׁעַע (shʿaʿa, “be blinded”); see Isa 6:10; 29:9.
  3. Isaiah 32:3 tn Heb “ears that hear.”
  4. Isaiah 32:4 tn Heb “the heart of rashness will understand knowledge”; cf. NAB “The flighty will become wise and capable.”
  5. Isaiah 32:6 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
  6. Isaiah 32:6 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
  7. Isaiah 32:6 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
  8. Isaiah 32:6 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
  9. Isaiah 32:6 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
  10. Isaiah 32:7 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
  11. Isaiah 32:7 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
  12. Isaiah 32:7 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”
  13. Isaiah 32:8 tn Heb “and he upon honorable things stands.”