Isaiah — Chapter 32

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,And ministers shall govern with justice;

Every 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.

Then the eyes of those who have sight shall not be sealed,And the ears of those who have hearing shall listen;

And the minds of the thoughtless shall attend and note,And the tongues of mumblers shall speak with fluent eloquence.

No more shall a villain be called noble,Nor shall “honorable” be said of a knave.

For the villains speak villainyAnd plot treachery;To act impiouslyAnd to preach disloyalty against GOD;To leave the hungry unsatisfiedAnd deprive the thirsty of drink.

As for the knaves, their tools are knavish.They forge plotsTo destroy the poor with falsehoodsAnd the needy when they plead their cause.

But the noble have noble intentionsAnd are constant in noble acts.

You carefree women,Attend, hear my words!You confident ladies,Give ear to my speech!

In little more than a year,aIn little more than a year Meaning of Heb. uncertain. You shall be troubled, O confident ones,When the vintage is overAnd no ingathering takes place.

Tremble, you carefree ones!Quake, O confident ones!Strip yourselves naked,Put the cloth about your loins!

Lament upon the breasts,bupon the breasts Emendation yields “for the fields.” For the pleasant fields,For the spreading grapevines,

For 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.

For the castle shall be abandoned,The noisy city forsaken;Citadel and tower shall becomeBare placescBare places Meaning of Heb. uncertain; emendation yields “Brushland, desert.” forever,A stamping ground for wild asses,A pasture for flocksdflocks Emendation yields “onagers”; cf. Job 39.5.—

Till a spirit from on high is poured out on us,And wilderness is transformed into farmland,While farmland rates as mere brush.efarmland rates as mere brush I.e., the transformed wilderness will surpass in fertility what is now used as farmland.

Then justice shall abide in the wildernessAnd righteousness shall dwell on the farmland.

For the work of righteousness shall be peace,And the effect of righteousness, calm and confidence forever.

Then my people shall dwell in peaceful homes,In secure dwellings,In untroubled places of rest.

fMeaning of verse uncertain. And the brush shall sink and vanish,Even as the city is laid low.

Happy shall you be who sow by all waters,Who send out cattle and donkeys to pasture.gsend out cattle and donkeys to pasture Lit. “let loose the feet of cattle and donkeys”; cf. 7.25 end.