Isaiah 32

A Righteous King

¹Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule with justice.

²Each will be like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry land,

like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.

³Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴The mind of the rash will know and understand,

and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.

⁵No longer will a fool be called noble,

nor a scoundrel be respected.

⁶For a fool speaks foolishness;

his mind plots iniquity.

He practices ungodliness

and speaks falsely about the LORD;

he leaves the hungry empty

and deprives the thirsty of drink.

⁷The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive;

he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies,

even when the plea of the needy is just.

⁸But a noble man makes honorable plans;

he stands up for worthy causes.

The Women of Jerusalem

⁹Stand up, you complacent women;

listen to me.

Give ear to my word,

you overconfident daughters.

¹⁰In a little more than a year you will tremble,

O secure ones.

For the grape harvest will fail

and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

¹¹Shudder, you ladies of leisure;

tremble, you daughters of complacency.

Strip yourselves bare

and put sackcloth around your waists.

¹²Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,

for the fruitful vines,

¹³and for the land of my people,

overgrown with thorns and briers—

even for every house of merriment

in this city of revelry.1

¹⁴For the palace will be forsaken,

the busy city abandoned.

The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—

the delight of wild donkeys

and a pasture for flocks—

¹⁵until the Spirit is poured out

upon us from on high.

Then the desert will be an orchard,

and the orchard will seem like a forest.

¹⁶Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,

and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.

¹⁷The work of righteousness will be peace;

the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.

¹⁸Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place,

in safe and secure places of rest.

¹⁹But hail will level the forest,

and the city will sink to the depths.

²⁰Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters,

who let the ox and donkey range freely.