Isaiah 32

1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

2And a man will be like a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a massive rock in a weary land.

3Then the eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen attentively.

4The heart of the hasty will understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

5No longer will the fool be called noble, nor will the scoundrel be called generous.

6For a fool speaks folly, and his heart devises iniquity: to practice godlessness and to speak error against Yahweh, to leave the hungry person empty and to withhold drink from the thirsty.

7And the rogue’s devices are evil; he devises schemes to ruin the humble with lying words, even when the poor man speaks what is just.

8But a noble man plans noble things, and he stands on noble things.

9You complacent women, rise up; hear my voice. You confident daughters, listen to my word.

10In little more than a year you will tremble, you complacent women, because the grape harvest will fail; the fruit harvest will not come.

11Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you confident ones. Strip, make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist.

12They beat their breasts in mourning over the delightful fields, over the fruitful vine.

13On the land of my people, thorn and brier will come up; indeed, over all the joyful houses in the exultant city.

14For the palace is abandoned, the crowded city is forsaken; Ophel and the watchtower have become caves forever, a joy for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.

15until a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is regarded as a forest.

16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will abide in the fruitful field.

17And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and security forever.

18And my people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

19And it will hail when the forest falls, and the city will be utterly laid low in the lowland.

20Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.