Until the Spirit is Poured Upon Us From on High

This chapter starts with a description of the reign of a righteous king. People will begin to see and listen, to understand and speak plainly. However, there will still be foolish people and ungodly people. But God will ensure that their wicked plans are destroyed.

The second paragraph warns the people, especially the women and daughters against complacency. It describes the coming of some troubling times, followed by mourning. Then cities and forts will be deserted. Following this, God will send His Spirit, and the fields will be fruitful again. Hence God does not leave His creation nor His people in desolation as He has a plan to save them. The result of the pouring of the Spirit is that justice and righteousness will prevail in the land. The effect of this would be quietness and peace throughout the land.


Isaiah 32
A Reign of Righteousness

1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5 The foolish person will no longer be called generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8 But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.


Consequences of Complacency

9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
14 Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.


The Peace of God’s Reign

16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
19 Though hail comes down on the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.
20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.

When Pride Comes, Then Comes Shame

Here is a collection of many sayings that make up this chapter. There is emphasis on a few virtues and also discouragement in a few other traits. The good virtues that would bring blessings and favour from God are righteousness, uprightness, integrity, merciful, generosity, trusting in God. The traits that bring condemnation, death and destruction to people are perversity, wickedness, pride, dishonesty, unfaithful, talebearer (gossiper) and ungodly.


Proverbs 11

1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.

2 When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.

4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.

5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct[a] his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of the unjust perishes.

8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
And it comes to the wicked instead.

9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.

10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.

11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.

13 A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates being surety is secure.

16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.

17 The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

21 Though they join forces,[b] the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.

25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.

26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.

29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.

31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.