Isaiah 32

¹See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions.

²And 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.

³And the eyes of those who see will not be shut, and those who have hearing will give ear to the word.

⁴The man of sudden impulses will become wise in heart, and he whose tongue is slow will get the power of talking clearly.

⁵The foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.

⁶For 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.

⁷The designs of the false are evil, purposing the destruction of the poor man by false words, even when he is in the right.

⁸But the noble-hearted man has noble purposes, and by these he will be guided.

⁹Give ear to my voice, you women who are living in comfort; give attention to my words, you daughters who have no fear of danger.

¹⁰In 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.

¹¹Be 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.

¹²Have sorrow for the fields, the pleasing fields, the fertile vine;

¹³And for the land of my people, where thorns will come up; even for all the houses of joy in the glad town.

¹⁴For 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;

¹⁵Till 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.

¹⁶Then in the waste land there will be an upright rule, and righteousness will have its place in the fertile field.

¹⁷And the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of an upright rule will be to take away fear for ever.

¹⁸And my people will be living in peace, in houses where there is no fear, and in quiet resting-places.

¹⁹But the tall trees will come down with a great fall, and the town will be low in a low place.

²⁰Happy are you who are planting seed by all the waters, and sending out the ox and the ass.

Isaiah 32

¹Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.

²And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

³And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

⁴The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

⁵The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

⁶For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

⁷The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

⁸But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

⁹Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.

¹⁰Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.

¹¹Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

¹²They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

¹³Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

¹⁴Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

¹⁵Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

¹⁶Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

¹⁷And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

¹⁸And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;

¹⁹When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.

²⁰Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.