The Righteous King
Study note
Isaiah describes a future king who will reign with justice and righteousness. Under his rule, leaders will be like shelters from the wind and streams of water in a dry land. People who were once confused will gain understanding. The foolish and wicked will no longer be honored or praised. This vision of a righteous ruler points to the coming Messiah.
1 Look! A king will come who rules with righteousness, and his leaders will govern with justice. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 Each leader will be like shelter from a storm. They will be shade in the scorching heat. They will be like streams in a dry land. They will be like a great rock's cool shadow in a weary place. 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 Then the eyes of those who can see will no longer be shut, and the ears of those who can hear will listen. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 People who act recklessly will learn good judgment, and those who stammer will speak clearly and easily. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 Fools will no longer be treated like they are noble, and cheaters will no longer be called generous. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 A fool talks foolishly and cooks up evil schemes in his mind. He does wicked things and tells lies about the Lord. He lets hungry people go without food and takes water away from people dying of thirst. 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 A cheater uses evil methods. He invents wicked plans to destroy poor people with his lies, even when the needy person is telling the truth. 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 a giving person thinks of giving things to do. And giving actions are what keep him standing firm. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
Warning to Complacent Women
Study note
Isaiah turns to the wealthy women of Jerusalem who feel secure and carefree. Similar to his earlier warning in Isaiah chapter 3, he tells them to tremble because within a year, the grape harvest will fail and the crops will not come in. Thorns and briers will cover the joyful houses and the happy city. The palaces will be abandoned, and wild animals will roam the ruins.
9 Get up and pay attention, you women who feel so safe and comfortable! Listen to what I have to say, you carefree daughters! Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 In just over a year, you comfortable women will be shaking with fear. The grape harvest will fail, and there will be no fruit to collect. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, you comfortable women! Shake with dread, you carefree ones! Strip off your nice clothes and wrap rough cloth around yourselves. 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 Beat your chests in grief for the beautiful fields and the fruitful grapevines. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Mourn for the land of my people, where thorns and briers will take over — mourn for every happy home in the joyful city. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 The palace will be empty. The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and watchtowers will become dens for wild animals and pastures for flocks, and it will stay that way 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;
The Spirit Poured Out
Study note
After the time of desolation, God will pour out his Spirit from heaven. When that happens, the wilderness will become a fruitful field. Justice and righteousness will produce lasting peace, quietness, and confidence. God's people will live in safe homes and peaceful places. This passage looks far into the future to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the ultimate reign of peace.
15 until the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the desert will become rich farmland, and the farmland will look like a thick forest. 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 Justice will make its home in the wilderness, and righteousness will settle in the fertile fields. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 Doing right will lead to peace. Living right will bring quietness and safety that last forever. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 My people will live in a peaceful place, in safe homes, and in undisturbed resting spots. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19 Even if hail smashes the forest flat and the city is completely leveled, When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 how happy you will be, planting your seeds beside every stream, letting your cattle and donkeys roam free. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.