Isaiah Chapter 32

Israel’s Ultimate Deliverance

                  32:1A righteous king is coming;

                                    his princes will rule honestly.

                        2 Each will provide a refuge from the wind,

                                    a shelter from the storm,

                                    a stream of water in the desert,

                                    the shade of a big tree in parched land.

                        3 Then the seeing will perceive;

                                    the hearing will listen.

                        4 The rash will use good judgment;

                                    stuttering tongues will speak fluently.                       

Is 32:1-4

                        5 Fools won’t be called noble anymore;

                                    rogues won’t be considered generous;

                              6 because fools speak nonsense;

                                    they’re inclined to practice ungodliness,

                                          to lie about Yahveh,

                                          to keep hungry people hungry,

                                          and deprive the thirsty of a drink.

                              7 Their methods are evil;

                                    they design plots

                                          to destroy the poor with slander

                                          even when the plea of the needy is just.

                              8 But the truly noble make noble plans

                                    and stick with them.                                                   

Is 32:5-8

                        9 Get up, women of leisure;

                                    listen, complacent daughters.

                              10 In a little over a year,

                                    trouble will come, complacent daughters;

                                    because the grapes will fail,

                                          the fruit harvest won’t happen.

                                             11Tremble, women of leisure;

                                    shudder, complacent daughters.

                              Strip down to the skin

                                    and wrap burlap around your waist.                          

Is 32:9-11

                              12 Beat your breasts for pleasant fields and fruitful vines,

                                          13 for joyful houses and happy towns,

                                          for my people’s land, where thorns and thistles grow;

                                    14 because the palace will be abandoned,

                                          the populated towns will be empty,

                                          hill and watchtower will become permanent dens,

                                                a delight for wild donkeys,

                                                a pasture for flocks;

                                    15 till the Spirit is poured out on us from on high,

                                          till the desert becomes a fertile field,

                                          and the fertile field becomes a forest.                 

Is 32:12-15

                        16 Then justice will thrive in the countryside;

                                    goodness will grow in the fertile field.

                        17 Goodness will lead to peace

                                    and bring extended calm and confidence.

                        18 Then my people will live undisturbed

                                    in safe houses and peaceful retreats.

                        19 Though hail flattens the forest

and the city’s leveled,

                                    20you’ll still be blessed who sow near water,

who let livestock and donkeys range free.                      

Is 32:16-20

From the CYV translation by Virgil Warren, PhD