Isaiah32

New International Version

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¹See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.

²Each 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.

³Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

⁵No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

⁶For 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.

⁷Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

⁸But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.

⁹You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!

¹⁰In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.

¹¹Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags.

¹²Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines

¹³and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers— yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.

¹⁴The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

¹⁵till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.

¹⁶The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.

¹⁷The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

¹⁸My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.

¹⁹Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely,

²⁰how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

Study Guide

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

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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)