32:1 Behold, a king will reign righteously,
And officials will rule justly.
32:2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like ①streams of water in a dry country,
Like the shade of a ②huge rock in an exhausted land.
▷ ①Lit canals ②Lit heavy
32:3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be ①blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
▷ ①Or turned away
32:4 The ①mind of the rash will discern the ②truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.
▷ ①Lit heart ②Lit knowledge
32:5 No longer will the fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
32:6 For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart ①inclines toward wickedness:
To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD,
To ②keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And ③to withhold drink from the thirsty.
▷ ①Or does ②Lit make empty the hungry soul ③Lit he deprives the thirsty
32:7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He devises wicked schemes
To destroy the poor with ①slander,
Even though the needy one speaks ②what is right.
▷ ①Lit words of falsehood ②Lit justly
32:8 But the noble person devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.
32:9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Listen to my word,
You complacent daughters.
32:10 Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, you complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
32:11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
32:12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
32:13 For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up;
Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
32:14 For the palace has been neglected, the ①populated city abandoned.
②Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
▷ ①Lit multitude of the ②Or Ophel
32:15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
32:16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.
32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and ①confidence forever.
▷ ①Or security
32:18 Then my people will live in a peaceful settlement,
In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places;
32:19 And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.
32:20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who ①let the ox and the donkey out freely.
▷ ①Lit send out the foot of the ox