Esias 32

1 For, behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall govern with judgment.

Lo, for righteousness doth a king reign, As to princes, for judgment they rule.

2 And a man shall hide his words, and be hidden, as from rushing water, and shall appear in Sion as a rushing river, glorious in a thirsty land.

And each hath been as a hiding-place [from] wind, And as a secret hiding-place [from] inundation, As rivulets of waters in a dry place, As a shadow of a heavy rock in a weary land.

3 And they shall no more trust in men, but they shall incline their ears to hear.

And not dazzled are the eyes of beholders, And the ears of hearers do attend.

4 And the heart of the weak ones shall attend to hear, and the stammering tongues shall soon learn to speak peace.

And the heart of those hastened Understandeth to know, And the tongue of stammerers hasteth to speak clearly.

5 And they shall no more at all tell a fool to rule, and thy servants shall no more at all say, Be silent.

A fool is no more called 'noble,' And to a miser it is not said, 'rich;'

6 For the fool shall speak foolish words, and his heart shall meditate vanities, and to perform lawless deeds and to speak error against the Lord, to scatter hungry souls, and he will cause the thirsty souls to be empty.

For a fool speaketh folly, And his heart doth iniquity, to do profanity, And to speak concerning Jehovah error, To empty the soul of the hungry, Yea, drink of the thirsty he causeth to lack.

7 For the counsel of the wicked will devise iniquity, to destroy the poor with unjust words, and ruin the cause of the poor in judgment.

And the miser — his instruments [are] evil, He hath counselled wicked devices, To corrupt the poor with lying sayings, Even when the needy speaketh justly.

8 But the godly have devised wise [measures], and this counsel shall stand.

And the noble counselled noble things, And he for noble things riseth up.

9 Rise up, ye rich women, and hear my voice; ye confident daughters, hearken to my words.

Women, easy ones, rise, hear my voice, Daughters, confident ones, give ear [to] my saying,

10 Remember for a full year in pain, yet with hope: the vintage has been cut off; it has ceased, it shall by no means come again.

Days and a year ye are troubled, O confident ones, For consumed hath been harvest, The gathering cometh not.

11 Be amazed, be pained, ye confident ones: strip you, bare yourselves, gird your loins;

Tremble ye women, ye easy ones, Be troubled, ye confident ones, Strip and make bare, with a girdle on the loins,

12 and beat your breasts, because of the pleasant field, and the fruit of the vine.

For breasts they are lamenting, For fields of desire, for the fruitful vine.

13 [As for] the land of my people, the thorn and grass shall come upon [it], and joy shall be removed from every house.

Over the ground of my people thorn — brier goeth up, Surely over all houses of joy of the exulting city,

14 [As for] the rich city, the houses are deserted; they shall abandon the wealth of the city, [and] the pleasant houses: and the villages shall be caves for ever, the joy of wild asses, shepherds' pastures;

Surely the palace hath been left, The multitude of the city forsaken, Fort and watch-tower hath been for dens unto the age, A joy of wild asses — a pasture of herds;

15 until the Spirit shall come upon you from on high, and Chermel shall be desert, and Chermel shall be counted for a forest.

Till emptied out on us is the Spirit from on high, And a wilderness hath become a fruitful field, And the fruitful field for a forest is reckoned.

16 Then judgment shall abide in the wilderness, and righteousness shall dwell in Carmel.

And dwelt in the wilderness hath judgment, And righteousness in the fruitful field remaineth.

17 And the works of righteousness shall be peace; and righteousness shall ensure rest, and [the righteous] shall be confident for ever.

And a work of the righteousness hath been peace, And a service of the righteousness — Keeping quiet and confidence unto the age.

18 And his people shall inhabit a city of peace, and dwell in [it] in confidence, and they shall rest with wealth.

And dwelt hath My people in a peaceful habitation, And in stedfast tabernacles, And in quiet resting-places.

19 And if the hail should come down, it shall not come upon you; and they that dwell in the forests shall be in confidence, as those in the plain country.

And it hath hailed in the going down of the forest, And in the valley is the city low.

20 Blessed are they that sow by every water, where the ox and ass tread.

Happy [are] ye sowing by all waters, Sending forth the foot of the ox and the ass!