1See, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princesg will rule with justice.*

2Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a covert from the tempest,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.*

3Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,

and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.*

4The minds of the rash will have good judgment,

and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.*

5A fool will no longer be called noble

nor a villain said to be honorable.*

6For fools speak folly,

and their minds plot iniquity:

to practice ungodliness,

to utter error concerning the Lord,

to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,

and to deprive the thirsty of drink.*

7The villainies of villains are evil;

they devise wicked devices

to ruin the poor with lying words,

even when the plea of the needy is right.*

8But those who are noble plan noble things,

and by noble things they stand.*

9Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;

you complacent daughters, listen to my speech.*

10In little more than a year

you will shudder, you complacent ones,

for the vintage will fail;

the fruit harvest will not come.*

11Tremble, you women who are at ease;

shudder, you complacent ones;

strip and make yourselves bare,

and put sackcloth on your loins.*

12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,h

for the fruitful vine,*

13for the soil of my people

growing up in thorns and briers,

yes, for all the joyous houses

in the jubilant city.*

14For the palace will be forsaken,

the populous city deserted;

the hill and the watchtower

will become dens forever,

the joy of wild asses,

a pasture for flocks;*

15until a spirit from on high is poured out on us,

and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.*

16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness

and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.*

17The effect of righteousness will be peace,

and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.*

18My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,

in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

19The forest will disappear completely,i

and the city will be utterly laid low.*

20Happy will you be who sow beside every stream,

who let the ox and the donkey range freely.*