1Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and rulers shall rule with justice. 2And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a huge rock in a weary land. 3And the eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen. 4And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of those who stutter shall be ready to speak plainly. 5The fool shall no more be called noble, nor the miser said to be bountiful. 6For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity; to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to be lacking. 7Also the implements of the scoundrel are evil; he devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice. 8But the noble devises noble things; and by noble things he shall stand. 9Rise up, you women who are at ease; hear my voice, you careless daughters; listen to my speech. 10Many days and years you shall be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11Tremble, you women at ease; be troubled, you careless ones; strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth on your loins. 12They shall mourn for the breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13On the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city; 14because the palaces shall be abandoned, the multitude of the city shall be deserted. Instead, the mound and tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is esteemed as a forest. 16Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall remain in the fruitful field. 17And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the service of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever. 18And my people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places, 19though it hails upon the forest, and the city is laid low. 20Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send free the feet of the ox and the ass.