The Kingdom of Righteousness

¹ See, a king will rule according to righteousness, and princes will rule according to justice.

² And each one will be like a hiding place from the wind and a covering from the rainstorm, like streams of water in a dry region, like the shade of a large rock in a weary land.

³ And the eyes of those who see will not gaze,¹ and the ears of those who hear will listen.

1. The same consonants with different vowels would be translated “be blinded,” which fits the context better

⁴ And the ⌞minds⌟¹ of the rash will understand ⌞knowledge⌟,² and the tongues³ of stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

1. Literally “heart”
2. Literally “to know”
3. Hebrew “tongue”

⁵ A fool will no longer be called noble, and a scoundrel will not be said to be eminent.

⁶ For a fool speaks folly, and his ⌞mind⌟¹ does iniquity: to ⌞behave wickedly⌟,² and to speak error concerning Yahweh, to leave the throat of the hungry empty, and he deprives the thirsty of drink.

1. Literally “heart”
2. Literally “do ungodliness”

⁷ And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil devices to ruin the poor with words of deception even¹ when the speech of the needy is right.

1. Or “and”

Against the Carefree Women

⁸ But¹ the nobleman plans noble things, and he stands upon noble things.

1. Or “And”

⁹ Women who are at ease, rise up; hear my voice! Carefree daughters, listen to my word!

¹⁰ ⌞In a year⌟¹ you will tremble, carefree ones, for the vintage will come to an end; the harvest will not come.

1. Literally “In days upon a year”

¹¹ Tremble, you who are at ease; tremble, carefree ones; strip, and strip yourself, and gird yourself on your loins,¹

1. Although the carefree and at ease addressees in this verse are feminine plural (“you women”), the commands are masculine singular in form

¹² mourning over breasts, over fields of delight, over the fruitful vine,

¹³ over the soil of my people. It goes up in thorns¹ and briers,² indeed over all of the houses of joy in the jubilant city.

1. Hebrew “thorn”
2. Hebrew “brier”

¹⁴ For the palace will be forsaken, the ⌞crowded city⌟¹ deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become² a cave forever, the joy of wild asses, a pasture ⌞for⌟³ flocks.

1. Literally “crowd of the city”
2. The Hebrew text has “for the benefit of” following “become”
3. Literally “of”

¹⁵ Until a spirit is poured out on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is reckoned as the forest.

¹⁶ Then¹ justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.

1. Or “And”

¹⁷ And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the work of righteousness, quietness and security forever.

¹⁸ And my people will dwell in a settlement of peace and in a dwelling place of security and in undisturbed resting places.

¹⁹ And it hails when ⌞the forest comes down⌟,¹ and the city will become low in humiliation.

1. Literally “the coming down of the forest”

²⁰ Happy are you who sow by all waters, who let the foot of the ox and the donkey go free.