Isaiah 32 King James Version (KJV)
32 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
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.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
Commentary
A kingdom of righteousness (32:1-20)
Looking beyond the victory over the Assyrians, Isaiah sees the day when the people of God are under the rule of an ideal government. At the head of this government is a king whose chief officials share his characteristics of integrity, justice and mercy. Together they give their people protection and contentment (32:1-2).
In such a kingdom the people as a whole reflect in their lives the qualities of their rulers. They have a desire to know more of God and his ways and to live lives of greater usefulness to others (3-4). If people speak foolishly, act selfishly, or plot cunningly how to exploit the disadvantaged, they will find that in such a society they are shown up to be what they really are (5-7). In the same way the upright will be recognized for what they are, and honoured accordingly (8).
Returning to the Jerusalem of his own time, Isaiah announces that the upper class women who live luxuriously will suddenly find themselves poor. The vineyards that provide them with a constant supply of wine will be destroyed, and the city where they find their pleasure will be smashed to ruins (9-14).
Only after the removal of all these evils does the ideal age begin. This age is characterized by justice and righteousness, because the people have God’s Spirit poured out upon them (15-16). The result is peace, safety, joy, freedom and prosperity such as people have never known before (17-20).