| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. | 1Look, a king will promote fairness; officials will promote justice. |
| 2A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. | 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. |
| 3The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen. | 3Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive. |
| 4Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. | 4The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity. |
| 5The foolish person will no longer be called generous, Nor the miser said to be bountiful; | 5A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled. |
| 6For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the LORD, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. | 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. |
| 7Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks justice. | 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. |
| 8But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand. | 8An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security. |
| 9Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. | 9You complacent women, get up and listen to me! You carefree daughters, pay attention to what I say! |
| 10In a year and some days You will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, The gathering will not come. | 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. |
| 11Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent ones; Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, And gird sackcloth on your waists. | 11Tremble, you complacent ones! Shake with fear, you carefree ones! Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves--put sackcloth on your waist! |
| 12People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. | 12Mourn over the field, over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine! |
| 13On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city; | 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. |
| 14Because the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks— | 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. |
| 15Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. | 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. |
| 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. | 16Justice will settle down in the desert and fairness will live in the orchard. |
| 17The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. | 17Fairness will produce peace and result in lasting security. |
| 18My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, | 18My people will live in peaceful settlements, in secure homes, and in safe, quiet places. |
| 19Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. | 19Even if the forest is destroyed and the city is annihilated, |
| 20Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey. | 20you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze. |
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