Isaiah 32

The Kingdom of Righteousness

32 See, a king will rule according to righteousness,
- and princes will rule according to justice.
2 And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind
- and a covering from the rainstorm,
like streams of water in a dry region,
- like the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,[fn]
- and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 And the minds[fn] of the rash will understand knowledge ,[fn]
- and the tongues[fn] of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.
5 A fool will no longer be called noble,
- and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.
6 For a fool speaks folly,
- and his mind[fn] does iniquity:
to behave wickedly ,[fn]
- and to speak error concerning Yahweh,
to leave the throat of the hungry empty,
- and he deprives the thirsty of drink.
7 And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil;
- he plans evil devices
to ruin the poor with words of deception
- even[fn] when the speech of the needy is right.
8 But[fn] the nobleman plans noble things,
- and he stands upon noble things.

Against the Carefree Women

9 Women who are at ease, rise up; hear my voice!
- Carefree daughters, listen to my word!

10 ⌊In a year⌋[fn] you will tremble, carefree ones,

for the vintage will come to an end;
- the harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you who are at ease;
- tremble, carefree ones;
strip, and strip yourself,
- and gird yourself on your loins,[fn]
12 mourning over breasts,
- over fields of delight,
over the fruitful vine,
- 13 over the soil of my people.
It goes up in thorns[fn] and briers,[fn]
- indeed over all of the houses of joy in the jubilant city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
- the crowded city[fn] deserted;
the hill and the watchtower will become[fn] a cave forever,
- the joy of wild asses, a pasture for[fn] flocks.

15 Until a spirit is poured out on us from on high,

and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
- and the fruitful field is reckoned as the forest.
16 Then[fn] justice will dwell in the wilderness,
- and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,
- and the work of righteousness, quietness and security forever.
18 And my people will dwell in a settlement of peace
- and in a dwelling place of security
- and in undisturbed resting places.
19 And it hails when the forest comes down ,[fn]
- and the city will become low in humiliation.
20 Happy are you who sow by all waters,
- who let the foot of the ox and the donkey go free.

32:? The same consonants with different vowels would be translated “be blinded,” which fits the context better

32:? Literally “heart”

32:? Literally “to know”

32:? Hebrew “tongue”

32:? Literally “heart”

32:? Literally “do ungodliness”

32:? Or “and”

32:? Or “And”

32:10 Literally “In days upon a year”

32:10 Although the carefree and at ease addressees in this verse are feminine plural (“you women”), the commands are masculine singular in form

32:10 Hebrew “thorn”

32:10 Hebrew “brier”

32:10 Literally “crowd of the city”

32:10 The Hebrew text has “for the benefit of” following “become”

32:10 Literally “of”

32:15 Or “And”

32:15 Literally “the coming down of the forest”

LEB ISA Chapter 32