1 - See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice.
2 - Each 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.
3 - Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 - The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
5 - No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 - For 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.
7 - Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
8 - But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.
9 - You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!
10 - In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 - Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags.
12 - Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines
13 - and 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.
14 - The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 - till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 - The Lord's justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.
17 - The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 - My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
19 - Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely,
20 - how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.