Isaiah 32

1 Behold! a king shall reign in righteousness, And princes shall rule with equity.

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

2 Every one of them shall be a hiding-place from the wind, And a shelter from the tempest; As streams of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

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.

3 The eyes of them that see shall no more be blind, And the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

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

4 The heart of the rash shall gain wisdom, And the tongue of the stammerer learn to speak plainly.

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

5 The vile shall no more be called liberal, Nor the niggard said to be bountiful;

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.

6 For the vile will still utter villany, And his heart will devise iniquity; He will practise deception, and speak impiety against God; He will take away the food of the hungry, And deprive the thirsty of drink.

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.

7 The instruments also of the niggard are evil; He plotteth mischievous devices, To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the cause of the needy is just.

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

8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things, And in liberal things will he persevere.

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

9 Arise, hear my voice, ye women that are at ease! Give ear to my speech, ye careless daughters!

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.

10 One year more, and ye shall tremble, ye careless women! For the vintage shall fail; the harvest shall not come.

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.

11 Tremble, O ye that are at ease! Be in dismay, ye careless ones! Strip you, make you bare, gird ye sackcloth upon your loins!

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.

12 They shall smite themselves on their breasts, On account of the pleasant fields, On account of the fruitful vine.

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

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

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

14 For the palace shall be forsaken; The tumult of the city shall be solitary; The fortified hill and the tower shall be dens forever; The joy of wild-asses, the pasture of flocks;

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;

15 Until the spirit from on high be poured upon us, And the wilderness become a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed a forest.

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.

16 Then shall justice dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness in the fruitful field.

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

17 And the effect of righteousness shall be peace, And the fruit of righteousness quiet and security forever.

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

18 Then shall my people dwell in peaceful habitations, In secure dwellings, in quiet resting-places.

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

19 But the hail shall descend, and the forest shall fall; And the city shall be brought very low.

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

20 Happy ye who sow beside all waters; Who send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass!

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