2 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.

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

and the ears of those who hear will give attention.

4 The heart of the hasty will understand and know,

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

5 The fool will no more be called noble,

nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.

6 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.

7 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.

2 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.

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

And the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge,

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

5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal,

Nor the churl said to be bountiful.

6 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.

7 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.

2 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.

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

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

4 Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding.

Those who stammer will speak out plainly.

5 In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes.

Scoundrels will not be respected.

6 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.

7 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.

2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,

And a cover from the tempest,

As rivers of water in a dry place,

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

3 The eyes of those who see will not be dim,

And the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge,

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

5 The foolish person will no longer be called generous,

Nor the miser said to be bountiful;

6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,

And his heart will work iniquity:

To practice ungodliness,

To utter error against the Lord,

To keep the hungry unsatisfied,

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

7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;

He devises wicked plans

To destroy the poor with lying words,

Even when the needy speaks justice.

2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind,

like a safe place in a storm,

like streams of water in a dry land,

like a cool shadow from a large rock in a hot land.

3 People will look to the king for help,

and they will truly listen to what he says.

4 People who are now worried will be able to understand.

Those who cannot speak clearly now will then be able to speak clearly and quickly.

5 Fools will not be called great,

and people will not respect the wicked.

6 A fool says foolish things,

and in his mind he plans evil.

A fool does things that are wicked,

and he says wrong things about the Lord.

A fool does not feed the hungry

or let thirsty people drink water.

7 The wicked person uses evil like a tool.

He plans ways to take everything from the poor.

He destroys the poor with lies,

even when the poor person is in the right.

2 And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

2 And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm; as brooks of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken; 4 and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. 5 The vile man shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful: 6 for the vile man will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind 

and a hiding place from the rain. 

They will be like streams on parched ground 

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

3 Then the vision of those who can see won’t be blurred, 

and the ears of those who can hear will pay attention. 

4 Then those who are reckless will begin to understand, 

and those who stutter will speak quickly and clearly. 

5 Godless fools will no longer be called nobles, 

nor will scoundrels be considered gentlemen. 

6 Godless fools speak foolishness, 

and their minds plan evil 

in order to do ungodly things. 

They speak falsely about the Lord. 

They let people go hungry 

and withhold water from thirsty people. 

7 The tricks of scoundrels are evil. 

They devise wicked plans in order to ruin poor people with lies, 

even when needy people plead for justice. 

2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind,

a refuge from the rain,

like streams of water in a dry land

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

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

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The reckless mind will gain knowledge,

and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.

5 A fool will no longer be called a noble,

nor a scoundrel said to be important.

6 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.

7 The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive;

he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,

even when the poor says what is right.

2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a covert from the tempest,

like streams of water in a dry place,

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

3 Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,

and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.

4 The minds of the rash will have good judgment,

and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.

5 A fool will no longer be called noble

nor a villain said to be honorable.

6 For fools speak folly,

and their minds plot 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.

7 The villainies of villains are evil;

they devise wicked devices

to ruin the poor with lying words,

even when the plea of the needy is right.

2 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.

3 And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 And the minds of the rash will understand knowledge,

and the tongues of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

5 A fool will no longer be called noble,

and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.

6 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.

7 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.

2 Each man will be like a place to get out of the wind.

He will be like a place to hide from storms.

He’ll be like streams of water flowing in the desert.

He’ll be like the shadow of a huge rock in a dry and thirsty land.

3 Then the eyes of those who see won’t be closed anymore.

The ears of those who hear will listen to the truth.

4 The minds of thoughtless people will know and understand.

Tongues that stutter will speak clearly.

5 Foolish people won’t be considered noble anymore.

Those who are worthless won’t be highly respected.

6 A foolish person says foolish things.

His mind is full of evil thoughts.

He doesn’t do what is right.

He tells lies about the Lord.

He doesn’t give hungry people any food.

He doesn’t let thirsty people have any water.

7 The one who is worthless uses sinful methods.

He makes evil plans against poor people.

He destroys them with his lies.

He does it even when those people are right.

2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind

And a shelter from the storm,

Like streams of water in a dry country,

Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.

3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,

And the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,

And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

5 No longer will the fool be called noble,

Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

6 For a fool speaks nonsense,

And his heart inclines toward wickedness:

To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,

To keep the hungry person unsatisfied

And to withhold drink from the thirsty.

7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;

He devises wicked schemes

To destroy the afflicted with slander,

Even though the needy one speaks what is right.