Chapter 32
The Kingdom of Justice
1 See, a king will reign justly
and princes will rule rightly.(A)
2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain.
They will be like streams of water in a dry country,
like the shade of a great rock in a parched land.(B)
3 The eyes of those who see will not be closed;
the ears of those who hear will be attentive.(C)
4 The hasty of heart shall take thought to know,
and tongues of stutterers shall speak readily and clearly.
5 No more will the fool be called noble,
nor the deceiver be considered honorable.(D)
6 For the fool speaks folly,
his heart plans evil:
Godless actions,
perverse speech against the Lord,
Letting the hungry go empty
and the thirsty without drink.(E)
7 The deceits of the deceiver are evil,
he plans devious schemes:
To ruin the poor with lies,
and the needy when they plead their case.(F)
8 But the noble plan noble deeds,
and in noble deeds they persist.
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women so complacent, rise up and hear my voice,
daughters so confident, give heed to my words.(G)
10 In a little more than a year
your confidence will be shaken;
For the vintage will fail,
no fruit harvest will come in.(H)
11 Tremble, you who are so complacent!
Shudder, you who are so confident!
Strip yourselves bare,
with only a loincloth for cover.(I)
12 Beat your breasts
for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine;(J)
13 For the soil of my people,
overgrown with thorns and briers;
For all the joyful houses,
the exultant city.(K)
14 The castle will be forsaken,
the noisy city deserted;
Citadel and tower will become wasteland forever,
the joy of wild donkeys, the pasture of flocks;(L)
15 Until the spirit from on high
is poured out on us.
And the wilderness becomes a garden land
and the garden land seems as common as forest.(M)
16 Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness
and justice abide in the garden land.
17 The work of justice will be peace;
the effect of justice, calm and security forever.(N)
18 My people will live in peaceful country,
in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.(O)
19 And the forest will come down completely,
the city will be utterly laid low.(P)
20 Happy are you who sow beside every stream,
and let the ox and the donkey go freely!(Q)
Footnotes
- 32:14
- 32:15–18, 20
- 32:19
Cross references
- 32:1 : Is 9:6; 11:4; 16:5; Ps 72:1–4; Jer 23:5–6.
- 32:2 : Is 4:6; 16:4; 25:4.
- 32:3 : Is 6:10; 29:18; 35:5.
- 32:5 : Is 5:20.
- 32:6 : Prv 15:2.
- 32:7 : Is 29:20–21; Mi 2:1.
- 32:9 : Is 3:16–24; Am 6:1.
- 32:10 : Zep 1:13.
- 32:11 : Is 20:2; Jer 4:8; Mi 1:8.
- 32:12 : Is 16:9.
- 32:13 : Is 5:6; 7:23–25; 22:2; 34:13.
- 32:14 : Is 7:25; 24:10–11.
- 32:15 : Is 44:3; Ps 104:30; Ez 37:9–10; Jl 3:1–2.
- 32:17 : Is 9:6; 30:15; 33:15–16; Ps 72:2–3, 7; Jas 3:18.
- 32:18 : Jer 23:6; Mi 4:4.
- 32:19 : Is 10:33–34; 26:5.
- 32:20 : Is 7:25; 30:18, 23.
