| NET Bible | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Look, a king will promote fairness; officials will promote justice. | 1Behold, a king will reign righteously And princes will rule justly. |
| 2Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from a rainstorm; like streams of water in a dry region and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land. | 2Each will be like a refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land. |
| 3Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive. | 3Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen. |
| 4The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity. | 4The mind of the hasty will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. |
| 5A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled. | 5No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. |
| 6For a fool speaks disgraceful things; his mind plans out sinful deeds. He commits godless deeds and says misleading things about the LORD; he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. | 6For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty. |
| 7A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right. | 7As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He devises wicked schemes To destroy the afflicted with slander, Even though the needy one speaks what is right. |
| 8An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security. | 8But the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands. |
| 9You complacent women, get up and listen to me! You carefree daughters, pay attention to what I say! | 9Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters. |
| 10In a year's time you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive. | 10Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, O complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come. |
| 11Tremble, you complacent ones! Shake with fear, you carefree ones! Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves--put sackcloth on your waist! | 11Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist, |
| 12Mourn over the field, over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine! | 12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, |
| 13Mourn over the land of my people, which is overgrown with thorns and briers, and over all the once-happy houses in the city filled with revelry. | 13For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up; Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city. |
| 14For the fortress is neglected; the once-crowded city is abandoned. Hill and watchtower are permanently uninhabited. Wild donkeys love to go there, and flocks graze there. | 14Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken. Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever, A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks; |
| 15This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. Then the desert will become an orchard and the orchard will be considered a forest. | 15Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest. |
| 16Justice will settle down in the desert and fairness will live in the orchard. | 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness And righteousness will abide in the fertile field. |
| 17Fairness will produce peace and result in lasting security. | 17And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. |
| 18My people will live in peaceful settlements, in secure homes, and in safe, quiet places. | 18Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places; |
| 19Even if the forest is destroyed and the city is annihilated, | 19And it will hail when the forest comes down, And the city will be utterly laid low. |
| 20you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze. | 20How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let out freely the ox and the donkey. |
| NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. //netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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