Isaiah 32

1 Behold, the king will reign in justice, and the princes will rule in judgment.

See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions.

2 And a man will be like someone hidden from the wind, who conceals himself from a storm, or like rivers of waters in a time of thirst, or like the shadow of a rock that juts out in a desert land.

And a man will be as a safe place from the wind, and a cover from the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a waste land.

3 The eyes of those who see will not be obscured, and the ears of those who hear will listen closely.

And the eyes of those who see will not be shut, and those who have hearing will give ear to the word.

4 And the heart of the foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of those with impaired speech will speak quickly and plainly.

The man of sudden impulses will become wise in heart, and he whose tongue is slow will get the power of talking clearly.

5 He who is foolish will no longer be called leader, nor will the deceitful be called greater.

The foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.

6 For a foolish man speaks foolishness and his heart works iniquity in order to accomplish deception. And he speaks to the Lord deceitfully, so as to empty the soul of the hungry and to take away drink from the thirsty.

For the foolish man will say foolish things, having evil thoughts in his heart, working what is unclean, and talking falsely about the Lord, to keep food from him who is in need of it, and water from him whose soul is desiring it.

7 The tools of the deceitful are very wicked. For they have concocted plans to destroy the meek by lying words, though the poor speak judgment.

The designs of the false are evil, purposing the destruction of the poor man by false words, even when he is in the right.

8 Yet truly, the prince will plan things that are worthy of a prince, and he will stand above the rulers.

But the noble-hearted man has noble purposes, and by these he will be guided.

9 You opulent women, rise up and listen to my voice! O confident daughters, play close attention to my eloquence!

Give ear to my voice, you women who are living in comfort; give attention to my words, you daughters who have no fear of danger.

10 For after a year and some days, you who are confident will be disturbed. For the vintage has been completed; the gathering will no longer occur.

In not much more than a year, you, who are not looking for evil, will be troubled: for the produce of the vine-gardens will be cut off, and there will be no getting in of the grapes.

11 Be stupefied, you opulent women! Be disturbed, O confident ones! Strip yourselves, and be confounded; gird yourselves at the waist.

Be shaking with fear, you women who are living in comfort; be troubled, you who have no fear of danger: take off your robes and put on clothing of grief.

12 Mourn over your breasts, over the delightful country, over the fruitful vineyard.

Have sorrow for the fields, the pleasing fields, the fertile vine;

13 Thorn and brier will rise up, over the soil of my people. How much more over all the houses of gladness, over the city of exultation?

And for the land of my people, where thorns will come up; even for all the houses of joy in the glad town.

14 For the house has been forsaken. The multitude of the city has been abandoned. A darkness and a covering have been placed over its dens, even unto eternity. It will be the gladness of wild donkeys and the pasture of flocks,

For the fair houses will have no man living in them; the town which was full of noise will become a waste; the hill and the watchtower will be unpeopled for ever, a joy for the asses of the woods, a place of food for the flocks;

15 until the Spirit is poured over us from on high. And the desert will be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be considered as a forest.

Till the spirit comes on us from on high, and the waste land becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is changed into a wood.

16 And judgment will live in solitude, and justice will be seated in a fruitful place.

Then in the waste land there will be an upright rule, and righteousness will have its place in the fertile field.

17 And the work of justice will be peace. And the service of justice will be quiet and secure, forever.

And the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of an upright rule will be to take away fear for ever.

18 And my people will be seated in the beauty of peacefulness, and in the tabernacles of faithfulness, and in the opulence of restfulness.

And my people will be living in peace, in houses where there is no fear, and in quiet resting-places.

19 But hail will be in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought exceedingly low.

But the tall trees will come down with a great fall, and the town will be low in a low place.

20 Blessed are you who sow over any waters, sending the feet of the ox and the donkey there.

Happy are you who are planting seed by all the waters, and sending out the ox and the ass.