Rulers and people in the coming days

32 Behold there comes a king

who will rule in a spirit of justice,

and princes who govern with equity –

2 each like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from storm of rain,

or like streamlets of water in dry parched places,

or shade of great rock in a weary land.

3 Then the eyes that see will not be sealed,

and the ears that hear will not be heedless;

4 the mind of the rash will judge with discernment,

the stammering tongue will be fluent and plain.

5 No more will a fool be called ‘noble.’

No more will a knave be named ‘princely.’

6 For the fool speaks folly for ever,

his mind evermore plots mischief;

his doings are profane,

and error he speaks of the Lord.

He leaves the hungry unsated,

and drink he withholds from the thirsty.

7 The tricks of the evil are vile,

and villainies he plans –

to ruin the humble with lies,

and the poor, though his plea may be just.

8 But the plans of the ‘noble’ are noble,

by nobleness he will endure.