Isaiah 32
1 See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions.
Lo! the kyng schal regne in riytfulnesse, and princes schulen be souereyns in doom.
2 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.
And a man schal be, as he that is hid fro wynd, and hidith hym silf fro tempest; as stremes of watris in thirst, and the schadewe of a stoon stondynge fer out in a desert lond.
3 And the eyes of those who see will not be shut, and those who have hearing will give ear to the word.
The iyen of profetis schulen not dasewe, and the eeris of heereris schulen herke diligentli;
4 The man of sudden impulses will become wise in heart, and he whose tongue is slow will get the power of talking clearly.
and the herte of foolis schal vndurstonde kunnyng, and the tunge of stuttynge men schal speke swiftli, and pleynli.
5 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.
He that is vnwijs, schal no more be clepid prince, and a gileful man schal not be clepid the grettere.
6 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.
Forsothe a fool shal speke foli thingis, and his herte schal do wickidnesse, that he performe feynyng, and speke to the Lord gilefuli; and he schal make voide the soule of an hungry man, and schal take awei drynke fro a thirsti man.
7 The designs of the false are evil, purposing the destruction of the poor man by false words, even when he is in the right.
The vessels of a gileful man ben worste; for he schal make redi thouytis to leese mylde men in the word of a leesyng, whanne a pore man spak doom.
8 But the noble-hearted man has noble purposes, and by these he will be guided.
Forsothe a prince schal thenke tho thingis that ben worthi to a prince, and he schal stonde ouer duykis.
9 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.
Riche wymmen, rise ye, and here my vois; douytris tristynge, perseyue ye with eeris my speche.
10 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.
For whi aftir daies and a yeer, and ye that tristen schulen be disturblid; for whi vyndage is endid, gaderyng schal no more come.
11 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.
Ye riche wymmen, be astonyed; ye that tristen, be disturblid; vnclothe ye you, and be ye aschamed;
12 Have sorrow for the fields, the pleasing fields, the fertile vine;
girde youre leendis; weile ye on brestis, on desirable cuntrei, on the plenteuouse vyner.
13 And for the land of my people, where thorns will come up; even for all the houses of joy in the glad town.
Thornes and breris schulen stie on the erthe of my puple; hou myche more on alle the housis of ioie of the citee makynge ful out ioie?
14 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;
For whi the hous is left, the multitude of the citee is forsakun; derknessis and gropyng ben maad on dennes, `til in to with outen ende. The ioie of wield assis is the lesewe of flockis;
15 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.
til the spirit be sched out on us fro an hiy, and the desert schal be in to Chermel, and Chermel schal be arettid in to a forest.
16 Then in the waste land there will be an upright rule, and righteousness will have its place in the fertile field.
And doom schal dwelle in wildirnesse, and riytfulnesse schal sitte in Chermel;
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of an upright rule will be to take away fear for ever.
and the werk of riytfulnesse schal be pees, and the tilthe of riytfulnesse schal be stilnesse and sikirnesse, `til in to with outen ende.
18 And my people will be living in peace, in houses where there is no fear, and in quiet resting-places.
And my puple schal sitte in the fairnesse of pees, and in the tabernaclis of trist, and in riche reste.
19 But the tall trees will come down with a great fall, and the town will be low in a low place.
But hail schal be in the coming doun of the foreste, and bi lownesse the citee schal be maad low.
20 Happy are you who are planting seed by all the waters, and sending out the ox and the ass.
Blessid ben ye, that sowen on alle watris, and putten yn the foot of an oxe and of an asse.
