Isaiah 32

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

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

2 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

5 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.

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

6 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

9 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.

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

10 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.

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

11 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.

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

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

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

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

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

14 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;

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;

15 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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