Isaiah 32

Chapter 32

Israel’s Ultimate Deliverance

1 Look, a righteous king is coming!
And honest princes will rule under him.2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.3 Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,
and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.4 Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.
Those who stammer will speak out plainly.5 In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.
Scoundrels will not be respected.6 For fools speak foolishness
and make evil plans.
They practice ungodliness
and spread false teachings about the LORD.
They deprive the hungry of food
and give no water to the thirsty.7 The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.
They plot crooked schemes.
They lie to convict the poor,
even when the cause of the poor is just.8 But generous people plan to do what is generous,
and they stand firm in their generosity.9 Listen, you women who lie around in ease.
Listen to me, you who are so smug.10 In a short time—just a little more than a year—
you careless ones will suddenly begin to care.
For your fruit crops will fail,
and the harvest will never take place.11 Tremble, you women of ease;
throw off your complacency.
Strip off your pretty clothes,
and put on burlap to show your grief.12 Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms
and your fruitful grapevines.13 For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers.
Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.14 The palace and the city will be deserted,
and busy towns will be empty.
Wild donkeys will frolic and flocks will graze
in the empty fortst and watchtowers15 until at last the Spirit is poured out
on us from heaven.
Then the wilderness will become a fertile field,
and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.16 Justice will rule in the wilderness
and righteousness in the fertile field.17 And this righteousness will bring peace.
Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.18 My people will live in safety, quietly at home.
They will be at rest.19 Even if the forest should be destroyed
and the city torn down,20 the LORD will greatly bless his people.
Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up.
Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.

ISAIAH 32

Justice Will Rule

1 A king and his leaders
will rule with justice.

2 They will be a place of safety
from stormy winds,
a stream in the desert,
and a rock that gives shade
from the heat of the sun.

3 Then everyone who has eyes
will open them and see,
and those who have ears
will pay attention.

4 All who are impatient
will take time to think;
everyone who stutters
will talk clearly.

5 Fools will no longer
be highly respected,
and crooks won't be given
positions of honor.

6 Fools talk foolishness.
They always make plans
to do sinful things,
to lie about the [Lord],
to let the hungry starve,
and to keep water from those
who are thirsty.

7 Cruel people tell lies—
they do evil things,
and make cruel plans
to destroy the poor and needy,
even when they beg
for justice.

8 But helpful people
can always be trusted
to make helpful plans.

Punishment for the Women //of Jerusalem

9 Listen to what I say,
you women who are carefree
and careless!

10 You may not have worries now,
but in about a year,
the grape harvest will fail,
and you will tremble.

11 Shake and shudder,
you women without a care!
Strip off your clothes—
put on sackcloth.

12 Slap your breasts in sorrow
because of what happened
to the fruitful fields
and vineyards,

13 and to the happy homes
in Jerusalem.
The land of my people
is covered with thorns.

14 The palace will be deserted,
the crowded city empty.
Fortresses and towers
will forever become
playgrounds for wild donkeys
and pastures for sheep.

God's Spirit //Makes the Difference

15 When the Spirit is given to us
from heaven,
deserts will become orchards
thick as fertile forests.

16 Honesty and justice
will prosper there,

17 and justice will produce
lasting peace and security.

18 You, the [Lord]'s people,
will live in peace,
calm and secure,

19 even if hailstones flatten
forests and cities.

20 You will have God's blessing,
as you plant your crops
beside streams,
while your donkeys and cattle
roam freely about.