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Isaiah 32
1Behold, a shall reign in , and princes shall rule in justice.
2A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
3The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4The heart of the rash will understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5The fool will no longer be called noble, nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7The ways of the scoundrel are evil. He devises wicked plans to destroy the humble with lying words, even when the needy speaks right.
8But the noble devises noble things, and he will continue in noble things.
9Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my voice! You careless daughters, give ear to my speech!
10For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage will fail. The harvest won’t come.
11Tremble, you women who are at ease! Be troubled, you careless ones! Strip yourselves, make yourselves naked, and put sackcloth on your waist.
12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful .
13Thorns and briers will come up on my people’s land; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
14For the palace will be forsaken. The populous city will be deserted. The hill and the watchtower will be for dens forever, a delight for wild donkeys, a of flocks,
15until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is considered a forest.
16Then justice will dwell in ; and will remain in the fruitful field.
17The work of will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
19though hail flattens the forest, and the city is leveled completely.
20Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the donkey.
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.