The Kingdom of Righteousness
32 See, a king shall reign in righteousness,
and princes shall rule justly.
2 A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind,
and a shelter 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 shall not be blinded,
and the ears of those who hear shall listen.
4 The heart also of the hasty shall understand knowledge,
and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile person shall no more be called noble,
nor the rogue be spoken of as generous;
6 for the vile person will speak nonsense,
and his heart will work iniquity:
to practice hypocrisy
and to utter error against the Lord,
to keep the hungry unsatisfied
and to withhold drink from the thirsty.
7 The instruments also of the rogue are evil;
he devises wicked schemes
to destroy the poor with lying words,
even when the needy speaks right.
8 But the noble devises noble things,
and by noble things he stands.
The Women of Jerusalem
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
hear my voice;
you careless daughters,
give ear to my speech.
10 Within a year and a few days
you shall be troubled, you careless daughters;
for the vintage is ended
and the fruit gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
be troubled, you careless daughters;
strip, undress,
and put sackcloth on your waist.
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine,
13 for the land of my people
in which thorns and briers shall come up,
yes, for all the joyful houses
and for the jubilant city;
14 because the palaces have been forsaken,
the populated city is forsaken.
The forts and towers shall be caves forever,
a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks,
15 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high,
and the wilderness is a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness will abide in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness shall be peace,
and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation
and in secure dwellings
and in quiet resting places;
19 and it shall hail when the forest comes down,
and the city shall be utterly laid low.
20 How blessed are you
who sow beside all waters,
who send out freely the ox and the donkey.