Isaiah 32
1Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,And ministers shall govern with justice;
2Every one of them shall beLike a refuge from gales,A shelter from rainstorms—Or like brooks of water in a desert,Like the shade of a massive rockIn a languishing land.
3Then the eyes of those who have sight shall not be sealed,And the ears of those who have hearing shall listen;
4And the minds of the thoughtless shall attend and note,And the tongues of mumblers shall speak with fluent eloquence.
5No more shall a villain be called noble,Nor shall “honorable” be said of a knave.
6For the villains speak villainyAnd plot treachery;To act impiouslyAnd to preach disloyalty against GOD;To leave the hungry unsatisfiedAnd deprive the thirsty of drink.
7As for the knaves, their tools are knavish.They forge plotsTo destroy the poor with falsehoodsAnd the needy when they plead their cause.
8But the noble have noble intentionsAnd are constant in noble acts.
9You carefree women,Attend, hear my words!You confident ladies,Give ear to my speech!
10In little more than a year, You shall be troubled, O confident ones,When the vintage is overAnd no ingathering takes place.
11Tremble, you carefree ones!Quake, O confident ones!Strip yourselves naked,Put the cloth about your loins!
12Lament upon the breasts, For the pleasant fields,For the spreading grapevines,
13For my people’s soil—It shall be overgrown with briers and thistles—Aye, and for all the houses of delight,For the city of mirth.
14For the castle shall be abandoned,The noisy city forsaken;Citadel and tower shall becomeBare places forever,A stamping ground for wild asses,A pasture for flocks—
15Till a spirit from on high is poured out on us,And wilderness is transformed into farmland,While farmland rates as mere brush.
16Then justice shall abide in the wildernessAnd righteousness shall dwell on the farmland.
17For the work of righteousness shall be peace,And the effect of righteousness, calm and confidence forever.
18Then my people shall dwell in peaceful homes,In secure dwellings,In untroubled places of rest.
19And the brush shall sink and vanish,Even as the city is laid low.
20Happy shall you be who sow by all waters,Who send out cattle and donkeys to pasture.