• The Kingdom of Righteousness

  • 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.

  • The Women of Jerusalem

  • 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.