Isaiah 32

Isaiah 32

Government with Justice Predicted

1See, a king will reign in righteousness,[#Isa 9.6, 7; Jer 23.5; Zech 9.9]

and princes will rule with justice.

2Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,[#Isa 4.6; 35.6; 41.18; 43.19, 20]

a covert from the tempest,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.

3Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,[#Isa 29.18]

and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.

4The minds of the rash will have good judgment,[#Isa 29.24]

and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.

5A fool will no longer be called noble[#1 Sam 25.25]

nor a villain said to be honorable.

6For fools speak folly,[#Isa 3.15; 9.15, 16; 10.6; 59.7, 13]

and their minds plot iniquity:

to practice ungodliness,

to utter error concerning the Lord ,

to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,

and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

7The villainies of villains are evil;[#Isa 5.23; 11.4; Jer 5.26–28]

they devise wicked devices

to ruin the poor with lying words,

even when the plea of the needy is right.

8But those who are noble plan noble things,[#2 Cor 9.6–11]

and by noble things they stand.

Complacent Women Warned of Disaster

9Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;[#Isa 28.23; 47.8]

you complacent daughters, listen to my speech.

10In little more than a year[#Isa 5.5, 6]

you will shudder, you complacent ones,

for the vintage will fail;

the fruit harvest will not come.

11Tremble, you women who are at ease;[#Isa 22.12; 47.2]

shudder, you complacent ones;

strip and make yourselves bare,

and put sackcloth on your loins.

12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,[#Nah 2.7; #32.12 Gk: Heb on the lamenting breasts]

for the fruitful vine,

13for the soil of my people[#Isa 22.2; 34.13]

growing up in thorns and briers,

yes, for all the joyous houses

in the jubilant city.

14For the palace will be forsaken,[#Isa 6.11; 13.21, 22]

the populous city deserted;

the hill and the watchtower

will become dens forever,

the joy of wild asses,

a pasture for flocks;

15until a spirit from on high is poured out on us,[#Isa 11.2; 29.17; 35.2; Ezek 39.29; Joel 2.28]

and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

The Peace of God’s Reign

16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness[#Isa 33.5]

and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

17The effect of righteousness will be peace,[#Isa 30.15; Rom 14.17; Jas 3.18]

and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

18My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,

in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

19The forest will disappear completely,[#Isa 30.30; Zech 11.2; #32.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain]

and the city will be utterly laid low.

20Happy will you be who sow beside every stream,[#Isa 30.24]

who let the ox and the donkey range freely.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ