Isaiah 32

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

For, behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall govern with judgment.

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 shall hide his words, and be hidden, as from rushing water, and shall appear in Sion as a rushing river, glorious in a thirsty land.

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

And they shall no more trust in men, but they shall incline their ears to hear.

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

And the heart of the weak ones shall attend to hear, and the stammering tongues shall soon learn to speak peace.

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

And they shall no more at all tell a fool to rule, and your servants shall no more at all say, Be silent.

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 fool shall speak foolish words, and his heart shall meditate vanities, and to perform lawless deeds and to speak error against the Lord, to scatter hungry souls, and he will cause the thirsty souls to be empty.

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.

For the counsel of the wicked will devise iniquity, to destroy the poor with unjust words, and ruin the cause of the poor in judgment.

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

But the godly have devised wise [measures], and this counsel shall stand.

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

Rise up, you rich women, and hear my voice; you confident daughters, listen to my words.

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.

Remember for a full year in pain, yet with hope: the vintage has been cut off; it has ceased, it shall by no means come again.

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

Be amazed, be pained, you confident ones: strip you, bare yourselves, gird your loins;

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

and beat your breasts, because of the pleasant field, and the fruit of the 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?

[As for] the land of my people, the thorn and grass shall come upon [it], and joy shall be removed from every house.

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,

[As for] the rich city, the houses are deserted; they shall abandon the wealth of the city, [and] the pleasant houses: and the villages shall be caves for ever, the joy of wild asses, shepherds' pastures;

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.

until the Spirit shall come upon you from on high, and Chermel shall be desert, and Chermel shall be counted for a forest.

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

Then judgment shall abide in the wilderness, and righteousness shall dwell in Carmel.

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

And the works of righteousness shall be peace; and righteousness shall ensure rest, and [the righteous] shall be confident 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 his people shall inhabit a city of peace, and dwell in [it] in confidence, and they shall rest with wealth.

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

And if the hail should come down, it shall not come upon you; and they that dwell in the forests shall be in confidence, as those in the plain country.

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

Blessed are they that sow by every water, where the ox and ass tread.