Isaiah 32:1–35:10
32 See, a kinga will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.b
2 Each one will be like a shelterc from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,d
like streams of watere in the desertf
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,g
and the earsh of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,i
and the stammering tonguej will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the foolk be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,l
their hearts are bent on evil:m
They practice ungodlinessn
and spread erroro concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave emptyp
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,q
they make up evil schemesr
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needys is just.t
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deedsu they stand.v
9 You womenw who are so complacent,
rise up and listenx to me;
you daughters who feel secure,y
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a yearz
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,a
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,b you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!c
Strip off your fine clothesd
and wrap yourselves in rags.e
12 Beat your breastsf for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vinesg
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briersh—
yes, mourni for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.j
14 The fortressk will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;l
citadel and watchtowerm will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys,n a pasture for flocks,o
15 till the Spiritp is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,q
and the fertile field seems like a forest.r
16 The Lord’s justices will dwell in the desert,t
his righteousnessu live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousnessv will be peace;w
its effect will be quietness and confidencex forever.
18 My people will live in peacefuly dwelling places,
in secure homes,z
in undisturbed places of rest.a
19 Though hailb flattens the forestc
and the city is leveledd completely,
sowinge your seed by every stream,f
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.g
33 Woeh 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;i
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.j
2 Lord, be graciousk to us;
we long for you.
Be our strengthl every morning,
our salvationm in time of distress.n
3 At the uproar of your army,o the peoples flee;p
when you rise up,q the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder,r O nations, is harvesteds as by young locusts;t
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted,u for he dwells on high;v
he will fill Zion with his justicew and righteousness.x
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvationy and wisdom and knowledge;
the fearz of the Lord is the key to this treasure.a a
7 Look, their brave menb cry aloud in the streets;
the envoysc of peace weep bitterly.
no travelersd are on the roads.e
The treaty is broken,f
its witnessesb are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries upg and wastes away,
Lebanonh is ashamed and withers;i
Sharonj is like the Arabah,
and Bashank and Carmell drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,m” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;n
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceiveo chaff,
you give birthp to straw;
your breath is a fireq that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;r
like cut thornbushess they will be set ablaze.t”
13 You who are far away,u hearv what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinnersw in Zion are terrified;
tremblingx grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?y
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteouslyz
and speak what is right,a
who reject gain from extortionb
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,c
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyesd against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,e
whose refugef will be the mountain fortress.g
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not failh them.
17 Your eyes will see the kingi in his beautyj
and view a land that stretches afar.k
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:l
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?m”
19 You will see those arrogant peoplen no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.o
20 Look on Zion,p the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode,q a tentr that will not be moved;s
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mightyt One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.u
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty shipv will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,w
the Lord is our lawgiver,x
the Lord is our king;y
it is he who will savez us.
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lamea will carry off plunder.b
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;c
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.d
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;e
pay attention, you peoples!f
Let the earthg hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!h
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrathi is on all their armies.
He will totally destroya j them,
he will give them over to slaughter.k
3 Their slainl will be thrown out,
their dead bodiesm will stink;n
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.o
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolvedp
and the heavens rolled upq like a scroll;
all the starry host will fallr
like withereds leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My swordt has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,u
the people I have totally destroyed.v
6 The swordw of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrificex in Bozrahy
and a great slaughterz in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxena will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.b
Their land will be drenched with blood,c
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a dayd of vengeance,e
a year of retribution,f to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;g
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenchedh night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.i
From generation to generationj it will lie desolate;k
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owlb l and screech owlc will possess it;
the great owld and the ravenm will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edomn
the measuring line of chaoso
and the plumb linep of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princesq will vanishr away.
13 Thornss will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.t
She will become a haunt for jackals,u
a home for owls.v
14 Desert creaturesw will meet with hyenas,x
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creaturesy will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;z
there also the falconsa will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scrollb of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,c
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouthd that has given the order,e
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;f
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.g
35 The deserth and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.i
Like the crocus,j 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.k
The glory of Lebanonl will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmelm and Sharon;n
they will see the gloryo of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.p
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the kneesq that give way;
4 sayr to those with fearful hearts,s
“Be strong, do not fear;t
your God will come,u
he will come with vengeance;v
with divine retribution
he will come to savew you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be openedx
and the ears of the deafy unstopped.
6 Then will the lamez leap like a deer,a
and the mute tongueb shout for joy.c
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streamsd in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty grounde bubbling springs.f
In the haunts where jackalsg once lay,
grass and reedsh and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highwayi will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;j
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The uncleank will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lionl will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;m
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemedn will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescuedo will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;p
everlasting joyq will crown their heads.
Gladnessr and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.s