Isaiah 32
Isaiah prophesies that a king will reign in righteousness and princes will rule in justice. Eyes that see will not be dim and ears that hear will listen. The careless women are warned that within a year they will tremble, for the harvest will fail. When the Spirit is poured out from on high, the wilderness will become a fruitful field and righteousness will produce peace.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. | A king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule with justice. |
| 2 | And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. | Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm — like streams of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. |
| 3 | And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. | The eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. |
| 4 | The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. | The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and clearly. |
| 5 | The vile person shall be no more called liberal, and the churl shall be said to be bountiful. | The fool will no longer be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. |
| 6 | For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. | For the fool speaks foolishness, and his heart is set on doing evil — to practice ungodliness, to speak error against the LORD, to leave the hungry unfed and to deprive the thirsty of drink. |
| 7 | The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. | The scoundrel's methods are wicked. He devises evil schemes to ruin the poor with false words, even when the plea of the needy is just. |
| 8 | But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. | But the noble plans noble things; He stands firm in His noble purposes. |
| 9 | Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. | Rise up, You women who are at ease; hear my voice. You complacent daughters, listen to my words. |
| 10 | Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. | In little more than a year You will tremble, You complacent women, for the grape harvest shall fail; the harvest shall not come. |
| 11 | Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. | Shudder, You women who are at ease! Tremble, You complacent ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around Your waist. |
| 12 | They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. | Beat Your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, |
| 13 | Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: | for the ground of my people growing up thorns and briers — yes, for all the joyful houses in the exultant city. |
| 14 | Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; | For the palace is forsaken; the noisy city is deserted. The hill and the watchtower have become dens forever — a delight of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks — |
| 15 | Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. | until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is regarded as a forest. |
| 16 | Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. | Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. |
| 17 | And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. | The work of righteousness shall be peace; the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. |
| 18 | And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; | My people shall live in a peaceful settlement, in safe homes, in quiet resting places. |
| 19 | When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. | Even when the forest falls down and the city is utterly laid low, |
| 20 | Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. | blessed are You who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and donkey range freely. |