Isaiah 32:1-33:24

The Kingdom of Righteousness 1See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.

2Each 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 thirsty land.

3Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

5No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

6For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the LORD ; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water.

7Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

8But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.

The Women of Jerusalem 9You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!

10In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.

11Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags.

12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines

13and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers— yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.

14The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

15till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.

16The LORD ’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.

17The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

18My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

19Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, 20how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

Distress and Help 1Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.

2LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

3At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.

4Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.

5The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

6He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Or is a treasure from him

7Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

8The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities are despised, no one is respected.

9The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

10“Now will I arise,” says the LORD . “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.

11You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.

12The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”

13You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power!

14The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”

15Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—

16they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.

17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.

18In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”

19You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible.

20Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.

21There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.

22For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.

23Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder. 24No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.