Isaiah32

American Standard Version · Public Domain

TranslationKJV WEB ASV ESV NIV NASB NKJV NLT

¹Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.

²And 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.

³And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

⁴And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

⁵The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

⁶For 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.

⁷And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

⁸But the noble deviseth noble things; and in noble things shall he continue.

⁹Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.

¹⁰For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.

¹¹Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

¹²They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

¹³Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.

¹⁴For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

¹⁵until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.

¹⁶Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.

¹⁷And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever.

¹⁸And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.

¹⁹But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low.

²⁰Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 32.

Full AI study →

Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Times of peace and happiness. (1-8). An interval of trouble, yet comfort and blessings in the end. (9-20).

vv1-8

Christ our righteous King, and his true disciples, are evidently here intended. The consolations and graces of his Spirit are as rivers of water in this dry land; and as the overhanging rock affords refreshing shade and shelter to the weary traveller in the desert, so his power, truth, and love, yield the believer the only real protection and refreshment in the weary land through which he journeys to heaven. Christ bore the storm himself, to keep it off from us. To him let the trembling sinner flee for refuge; for he alone can protect and refresh us in every trial. See what pains sinners take in sin; they labour at it, their hearts are intent upon it, and with art they work iniquity; but this is our comfort, that they can do no more mischief than God permits. Let us seek to have our hearts more freed from selfishness. The liberal soul devises liberal things concerning God, and desires that He will grant wisdom and prudence, the comforts of his presence, the influence of his Spirit, and in due time the enjoyment of his glory.

vv9-20

When there was so much provocation given to the holy God, bad times might be expected. Alas! how many careless ones there are, who support self-indulgence by shameful niggardliness! We deserve to be deprived of the supports of life, when we make them the food of lusts. Let such tremble and be troubled. Blessed times shall be brought in by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high; then, and not till then, there will be good times. The present state of the Jews shall continue until a more abundant pouring out of the Spirit from on high. Peace and quietness shall be found in the way and work of righteousness. True satisfaction is to be had only in true religion. And real holiness is real happiness now, and shall be perfect happiness, that is, perfect holiness for ever. The good seed of the word shall be sown in all places, and be watered by Divine grace; and laborious, patient labourers shall be sent forth into God's husbandry.

Key Words

BeholdH2005Hebrew

הֵן: lo!; also (as expressing surprise) if

kingH4428Hebrew

מֶלֶךְ: a king

reignH4427Hebrew

מָלַךְ: to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel

righteousnessH6664Hebrew

צֶדֶק: the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity

princesH8269Hebrew

שַׂר: a head person (of any rank or class)

ruleH8323Hebrew

שָׂרַר: to have (transitively, exercise; reflexively, get) dominion

justiceH4941Hebrew

מִשְׁפָּט: properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style

EachH376Hebrew

אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)

hiding placeH4224Hebrew

מַחֲבֵא: a refuge

windH7307Hebrew

רוּחַ: wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)