Isaiah 32

1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and as for princes, they shall rule in justice.

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

2 And a man shall be as in a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as by the watercourses in a dry place, as in the shadow of a great rock in a weary 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 And the eyes of them that see shall not be closed, and the ears of them that hear shall attend.

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

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

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

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

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 the vile person will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise ungodliness, and to utter wickedness against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

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 instruments also of the churl are evil; he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, and the needy when he speaketh right.

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

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

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

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

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

10 After a year and days shall ye be troubled, ye confident women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.

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

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

12 Smiting upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine;

and beat your breasts, because of the pleasant field, and the fruit of the vine.

13 For the land of my people whereon thorns and briers come up; yea, for all the houses of joy and the joyous city.

[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 palace shall be forsaken; the city with its stir shall be deserted; the mound and the tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a 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 be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for 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 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.

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

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

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 shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.

And his people shall inhabit a city of peace, and dwell in [it] in confidence, and they shall rest with wealth.

19 And it shall hail, in the downfall of the forest; but the city shall descend into the valley.

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 Happy are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth freely the feet of the ox and the ass.

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