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Isaiah 32
The integrity of the king
1 A king reigns by integrity and princes rule by law;
2 each is like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in dry places, like the shade of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 The eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, the ears of those who hear will be alert,
4 the heart of the hasty will learn to judge, the tongue of stammerers will speak clearly,
5 the fool will no more be called noble, nor the villain be styled honourable.
Contrasts between fool and noble
6 For the fool speaks folly, and his heart meditates wickedness, that he may practise godlessness and speak wild words about Yahweh, and leave the hungry man’s craving unsatisfied, and refuse drink to the thirsty.
7 And the villain – his villainies are evil; he devises wicked plots to ruin the poor with lies even when the cause of these lowly ones is just;
8 but the noble man plans only noble things and bears himself nobly.
A warning to idle women
9 Stand up, you idle women, listen to my words; you over-confident daughters, pay attention to what I say.
10 Within one year and a few days you will tremble, you over-confident women; the grape harvest will be over, gathering will not come again.
11 Shudder, you idle women, tremble, you over-confident women; strip, undress, put sackcloth round your waists.
12 Beat your breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 for the soil of my people where thorns and briars grow, for all the happy houses, for the gay city.
14 Since the palace has been abandoned and the noisy city deserted, Ophel and Keep become caverns for ever, the playground of wild asses and the pasture of flocks.
Salvation from Yahweh
15 Once more there will be poured on us the spirit from above; then shall the wilderness be fertile land and fertile land become forest.
16 In the wilderness justice will come to live and integrity in the fertile land;
17 integrity will bring peace, justice give lasting security.
18 My people will live in a peaceful home, in safe houses, in quiet dwellings
19 – the forest shall be beaten down and the city laid low.
20 Happy will you be, sowing by every stream, letting ox and donkey roam free.