Isaiah 32:1-20

  • A king and princes will rule for true justice (1-8)

  • Complacent women warned (9-14)

  • Blessings when spirit poured out (15-20)

32  Look! A king+ will reign for righteousness,+And princes will rule for justice.  2  And each one will be like a hiding place* from the wind,A place of concealment* from the rainstorm,Like streams of water in a waterless land,+Like the shadow of a massive crag in a parched land.  3  Then the eyes of those seeing will no longer be pasted shut,And the ears of those hearing will pay attention.  4  The heart of those who are impetuous will ponder over knowledge,And the stammering tongue will speak fluently and clearly.+  5  The senseless one will no longer be called generous,And the unprincipled man will not be called noble;  6  For the senseless one will speak nonsense,And his heart will devise harmful things,+To promote apostasy* and to speak what is wayward against Jehovah,To cause the hungry one* to go unfedAnd to deprive the thirsty one of something to drink.  7  The devices of the unprincipled man are bad;+He promotes shameful conductTo ruin the afflicted one with lies,+Even when the poor speaks what is right.  8  But the generous one has generous intentions,And in generous* endeavors he perseveres.  9  “You complacent women, get up and listen to my voice! You carefree daughters,+ pay attention to what I say! 10  In a little over a year, you who are carefree will shudder,Because no fruit will have been gathered when the grape harvest ends.+ 11  Tremble, you complacent women! Shudder, you who are carefree! Strip yourselves bare,And put sackcloth around your hips.+ 12  Beat your breasts in lamentationOver the desirable fields and the fruitful vine. 13  For the ground of my people will be covered with thorns and briars;They will cover all the houses of rejoicing,Yes, the city of exultation.+ 14  For the fortified tower has been forsaken;The noisy city has been abandoned.+ Oʹphel+ and the watchtower have become a permanent wasteland,A delight for wild donkeys,A pasture for the flocks,+ 15  Until the spirit is poured out on us from above,+And the wilderness becomes an orchard,And the orchard is regarded as a forest.+ 16  Then justice will reside in the wilderness,And righteousness will dwell in the orchard.+ 17  The result of true righteousness will be peace,+And the fruitage of true righteousness will be lasting tranquillity and security.+ 18  My people will dwell in a peaceful abiding place,In secure dwellings and in tranquil resting-places.+ 19  But the hail will flatten the forest,And the city will be completely leveled. 20  Happy are you who sow seed alongside all waters,Who send out* the bull and the donkey.”+

Footnotes

Or “a shelter.”
Or “A refuge.”
Or “act in an irreverent way.”
Or “the soul of the hungry one.”
Or “noble.”
Or “let loose.”