Isaiah 32
32
A King with Integrity
1Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity, and national leaders who govern with justice. 2Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land. 3Their eyes and ears will be open to the needs of the people. 4They will not be impatient any longer, but they will act with understanding and will say what they mean. 5No one will think that a fool is honourable or say that a scoundrel is honest. 6A fool speaks foolishly and thinks up evil things to do. What he does and what he says are an insult to the LORD, and he never feeds the hungry or gives thirsty people anything to drink. 7A stupid person is evil and does evil things; he plots to ruin the poor with lies and to prevent them getting their rights. 8But an honourable person acts honestly and stands firm for what is right.
Judgement and Restoration
9You women who live an easy life, free from worries, listen to what I am saying. 10You may be satisfied now, but this time next year you will be in despair because there will be no grapes for you to gather. 11You have been living an easy life, free from worries; but now, tremble with fear! Strip off your clothes and tie rags round your waist. 12Beat your breasts in grief because the fertile fields and the vineyards have been destroyed, 13and thorn bushes and briars are growing on my people's land. Weep for all the houses where people were happy and for the city that was full of life. 14Even the palace will be abandoned and the capital city totally deserted. Homes and the forts that guarded them will be in ruins for ever. Wild donkeys will roam there, and sheep will find pasture there.
15But once more God will send us his Spirit. The waste land will become fertile, and fields will produce rich crops. 16Everywhere in the land righteousness and justice will be done. 17Because everyone will do what is right, there will be peace and security for ever. 18God's people will be free from worries, and their homes peaceful and safe. 19(But hail will fall on the forests, and the city will be torn down.) 20How happy everyone will be with plenty of water for the crops and safe pasture everywhere for the donkeys and cattle.
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Isaiah 32: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Isaiah 32
32
Justice Will Rule
1A king and his leaders
will rule with justice.
2They will be a place of safety
from stormy winds,
a stream in the desert,
and a rock that gives shade
from the heat of the sun.
3Then everyone who has eyes
will open them and see,
and those who have ears
will pay attention.
4All who are impatient
will take time to think;
everyone who stutters
will talk clearly.
5Fools will no longer
be highly respected,
and crooks won't be given
positions of honor.
6Fools talk foolishness.
They always make plans
to do sinful things,
to lie about the Lord,
to let the hungry starve,
and to keep water from those
who are thirsty.
7Cruel people tell lies—
they do evil things,
and make cruel plans
to destroy the poor and needy,
even when they beg
for justice.
8But helpful people
can always be trusted
to make helpful plans.
Punishment for the Women of Jerusalem
9Listen to what I say,
you women who are carefree
and careless!
10You may not have worries now,
but in about a year,
the grape harvest will fail,
and you will tremble.
11Shake and shudder,
you women without a care!
Strip off your clothes—
put on sackcloth.
12Slap your breasts in sorrow
because of what happened
to the fruitful fields
and vineyards,
13and to the happy homes
in Jerusalem.
The land of my people
is covered with thorns.
14The palace will be deserted,
the crowded city empty.
Fortresses and towers
will forever become
playgrounds for wild donkeys
and pastures for sheep.
God's Spirit Makes the Difference
15When the Spirit is given to us
from heaven,
deserts will become orchards
thick as fertile forests.
16Honesty and justice
will prosper there,
17and justice will produce
lasting peace and security.
18You, the Lord's people,
will live in peace,
calm and secure,
19even if hailstones flatten
forests and cities.
20You will have God's blessing,
as you plant your crops
beside streams,
while your donkeys and cattle
roam freely about.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.