Isaiah 32:1–8

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a shelter from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.

Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will give attention.

The heart of the hasty will understand and know,

and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.

The fool will no more be called noble,

nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.

For the fool speaks folly,

and his heart is busy with iniquity,

to practice ungodliness,

to utter error concerning the Lord,

to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,

and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil;

he plans wicked schemes

to ruin the poor with lying words,

even when the plea of the needy is right.

But he who is noble plans noble things,

and on noble things he stands.

See, a king will reign in righteousness

and rulers will rule with justice.

Each 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.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

The fearful heart will know and understand,

and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

No longer will the fool be called noble

nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

For 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.

Scoundrels use wicked methods,

they make up evil schemes

to destroy the poor with lies,

even when the plea of the needy is just.

But the noble make noble plans,

and by noble deeds they stand.

Indeed, a king will reign righteously,

and rulers will rule justly.

Each will be like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from the rain,

like flowing streams in a dry land

and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.

Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

The reckless mind will gain knowledge,

and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.

A fool will no longer be called a noble,

nor a scoundrel said to be important.

For a fool speaks foolishness

and his mind plots iniquity.

He lives in a godless way

and speaks falsely about the Lord.

He leaves the hungry empty

and deprives the thirsty of drink.

The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive;

he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,

even when the poor person says what is right.

But a noble person plans noble things;

he stands up for noble causes.

Look, a righteous king is coming!

And honest princes will rule under him.

Each 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 parched land.

Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth,

and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.

Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.

Those who stammer will speak out plainly.

In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.

Scoundrels will not be respected.

For fools speak foolishness

and make evil plans.

They practice ungodliness

and spread false teachings about the Lord.

They deprive the hungry of food

and give no water to the thirsty.

The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil.

They plot crooked schemes.

They lie to convict the poor,

even when the cause of the poor is just.

But generous people plan to do what is generous,

and they stand firm in their generosity.

See, a king will rule according to righteousness,

and princes will rule according to justice.

And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind

and a covering from the rainstorm,

like streams of water in a dry region,

like the shade of a large rock in a weary land.

And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

And the minds of the rash will understand knowledge,

and the tongues of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

A fool will no longer be called noble,

and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.

For a fool speaks folly,

and his mind does iniquity:

to behave wickedly,

and to speak error concerning Yahweh,

to leave the throat of the hungry empty,

and he deprives the thirsty of drink.

And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil;

he plans evil devices

to ruin the poor with words of deception

even when the speech of the needy is right.

But the nobleman plans noble things,

and he stands upon noble things.

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,

And princes shall rule in judgment.

And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind,

And a covert from the tempest;

As rivers of water in a dry place,

As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,

And the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge,

And the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

The vile person shall be no more called liberal,

Nor the churl said to be bountiful.

For the vile person will speak villany,

And his heart will work iniquity,

To practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord,

To make empty the soul of the hungry,

And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

The instruments also of the churl are evil:

He deviseth wicked devices

To destroy the poor with lying words,

Even when the needy speaketh right.

But the liberal deviseth liberal things;

And by liberal things shall he stand.