Isaiah 32
1 Listen to this! Some day there will be a righteous king, and his officials will help him to rule justly/fairly.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and as for princes, they shall rule in justice.
2 Each [of them] will be like [MET] a shelter from the wind and a (refuge/place to be protected) from the storm. They will be like [SIM] streams of water in the desert, like the shade under a huge rock in a very hot and dry land.
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.
3 When that happens, [those leaders will enable] people who have not understood [MET] [God’s truth] to understand it, and [they will enable] those who have not paid attention to [MET] [God’s truth] to pay attention to it.
And the eyes of them that see shall not be closed, and the ears of them that hear shall attend.
4 [Even] those who act very hastily will have good sense, and those who cannot speak well will speak fluently and clearly.
The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 [At that time], people who are foolish/unwise will no longer be (admired/looked up to), and scoundrels will no longer be respected.
The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be noble.
6 Foolish people say things that are foolish, and they plan to do evil things. Their behavior is disgraceful, and they say things about Yahweh that are false. They do not give food to those who are hungry, and they do not give water to those who are thirsty.
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.
7 Scoundrels do things that are evil and that deceive people; they plan to do evil things; by telling lies [in court] they cause poor people to (have trouble/be convicted), even when what the poor [people] are requesting is fair/just.
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.
8 But honorable people plan to do honorable/good things, and they do the honorable/good things that they plan to do.
But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
9 You women [of Jerusalem] who think that you are very secure/safe and think that everything is going well, listen to [IDM] what I say!
Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye confident daughters, give ear unto my speech.
10 One year from now, you who now (are not worried about anything/think that everything is going well) will tremble, because there will be no grapes for you to harvest and no [other] crops to harvest.
After a year and days shall ye be troubled, ye confident women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.
11 [So] tremble [now], you women who are not worried about anything! Take off your [fancy] clothes and put rough sackcloth around your waists.
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye confident ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins,
12 Beat/Hit your breasts to show that you are grieving about [what will happen in] your fertile fields and to your fruitful grapevines,
Smiting upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine;
13 because [only] thorns and thistles will grow in your soil. Your houses where you had joyful parties and your city where you have been happy will be gone.
For the land of my people whereon thorns and briers come up; yea, for all the houses of joy and the joyous city.
14 The [king’s] palace will be empty; there will be no people in the city that [now] is very noisy. Wild donkeys will walk around and flocks of sheep will eat grass in the empty forts and watchtowers.
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;
15 [It will be like that] until God pours his Spirit out on us from heaven. [When that happens], the deserts will become fertile fields, and abundant crops will grow in those fertile fields.
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.
16 People [PRS] will act/rule justly/fairly in those desert areas, and people will act/rule righteously in those fertile fields.
Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the result of their acting righteously will be that there will be peace, the land will be tranquil/quiet, and people will be secure/safe forever.
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence for ever.
18 My people will live in their homes peacefully, and safely, and calmly, in places of rest.
And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
19 [Even if a severe] hailstorm knocks down [the trees in] the forest, and [all the buildings in] the city are blown down,
And it shall hail, in the downfall of the forest; but the city shall descend into the valley.
20 Yahweh [will greatly] bless you; you will plant [seeds in fields] alongside the streams [and there will be abundant crops]. Your donkeys and cattle will easily find grass to eat.
Happy are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth freely the feet of the ox and the ass.
