Isaiah 32
1 Behold, the king will reign in justice, and the princes will rule in judgment.
Listen to this! Some day there will be a righteous king, and his officials will help him to rule justly/fairly.
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.
Each [of them] will be like [MET] a shelter from the wind and a (refuge/place to be protected) from the storm. They will be like [SIM] streams of water in the desert, like the shade under a huge rock in a very hot and dry land.
3 The eyes of those who see will not be obscured, and the ears of those who hear will listen closely.
When that happens, [those leaders will enable] people who have not understood [MET] [God’s truth] to understand it, and [they will enable] those who have not paid attention to [MET] [God’s truth] to pay attention to it.
4 And the heart of the foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of those with impaired speech will speak quickly and plainly.
[Even] those who act very hastily will have good sense, and those who cannot speak well will speak fluently and clearly.
5 He who is foolish will no longer be called leader, nor will the deceitful be called greater.
[At that time], people who are foolish/unwise will no longer be (admired/looked up to), and scoundrels will no longer be respected.
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.
Foolish people say things that are foolish, and they plan to do evil things. Their behavior is disgraceful, and they say things about Yahweh that are false. They do not give food to those who are hungry, and they do not give water to those who are thirsty.
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.
Scoundrels do things that are evil and that deceive people; they plan to do evil things; by telling lies [in court] they cause poor people to (have trouble/be convicted), even when what the poor [people] are requesting is fair/just.
8 Yet truly, the prince will plan things that are worthy of a prince, and he will stand above the rulers.
But honorable people plan to do honorable/good things, and they do the honorable/good things that they plan to do.
9 You opulent women, rise up and listen to my voice! O confident daughters, play close attention to my eloquence!
You women [of Jerusalem] who think that you are very secure/safe and think that everything is going well, listen to [IDM] what I say!
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.
One year from now, you who now (are not worried about anything/think that everything is going well) will tremble, because there will be no grapes for you to harvest and no [other] crops to harvest.
11 Be stupefied, you opulent women! Be disturbed, O confident ones! Strip yourselves, and be confounded; gird yourselves at the waist.
[So] tremble [now], you women who are not worried about anything! Take off your [fancy] clothes and put rough sackcloth around your waists.
12 Mourn over your breasts, over the delightful country, over the fruitful vineyard.
Beat/Hit your breasts to show that you are grieving about [what will happen in] your fertile fields and to your fruitful grapevines,
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?
because [only] thorns and thistles will grow in your soil. Your houses where you had joyful parties and your city where you have been happy will be gone.
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,
The [king’s] palace will be empty; there will be no people in the city that [now] is very noisy. Wild donkeys will walk around and flocks of sheep will eat grass in the empty forts and watchtowers.
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.
[It will be like that] until God pours his Spirit out on us from heaven. [When that happens], the deserts will become fertile fields, and abundant crops will grow in those fertile fields.
16 And judgment will live in solitude, and justice will be seated in a fruitful place.
People [PRS] will act/rule justly/fairly in those desert areas, and people will act/rule righteously in those fertile fields.
17 And the work of justice will be peace. And the service of justice will be quiet and secure, forever.
And the result of their acting righteously will be that there will be peace, the land will be tranquil/quiet, and people will be secure/safe forever.
18 And my people will be seated in the beauty of peacefulness, and in the tabernacles of faithfulness, and in the opulence of restfulness.
My people will live in their homes peacefully, and safely, and calmly, in places of rest.
19 But hail will be in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought exceedingly low.
[Even if a severe] hailstorm knocks down [the trees in] the forest, and [all the buildings in] the city are blown down,
20 Blessed are you who sow over any waters, sending the feet of the ox and the donkey there.
Yahweh [will greatly] bless you; you will plant [seeds in fields] alongside the streams [and there will be abundant crops]. Your donkeys and cattle will easily find grass to eat.
