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The Glorious Future

¹ Behold, a ^(C1)king will reign righteously,
And officials will rule justly.

² Each will be like a ^(C1)refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like ^(F1)(C2)streams of water in a dry country,
Like the ^(C1)shade of a ^(F2)huge rock in an exhausted land.

³ Then ^(C1)the eyes of those who see will not be ^(F1)blinded,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴ The ^(F1)mind of the ^(C1)rash will discern the ^(F2)truth,
And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.

⁵ No longer will the ^(C1)fool be called noble,
Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

⁶ For a fool speaks nonsense,
And his heart ^(F1)(C1)inclines toward wickedness:
To practice ^(C2)ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD,
To ^(F2)(C3)keep the hungry person unsatisfied
And ^(F3)to withhold drink from the thirsty.

⁷ As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
He ^(C1)devises wicked schemes
To ^(C2)destroy the poor with ^(F1)slander,
^(C3)Even though the needy one speaks ^(F2)what is right.

⁸ But ^(C1)the noble person devises noble plans;
And by noble plans he stands.

⁹ Rise up, you ^(C1)women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
^(C2)Listen to my word,
You complacent daughters.

¹⁰ Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, you complacent daughters;
^(C1)For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.

¹¹ Tremble, you women who are at ease;
^(C1)Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
^(C2)Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

^12 (C1)Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

^13 (C1)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up;
Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the ^(C2)jubilant city.

¹⁴ For ^(C1)the palace has been neglected, the ^(F1)populated ^(C2)city abandoned.
^(F2)Hill and watch-tower have become ^(C3)caves forever,
A delight for ^(C4)wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

¹⁵ Until the ^(C1)Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a ^(C2)fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

¹⁶ Then ^(C1)justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.

¹⁷ And the ^(C1)work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, ^(C2)quietness and ^(F1)confidence forever.

¹⁸ Then my people will live in a ^(C1)peaceful settlement,
In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed ^(C2)resting places;

¹⁹ And it will ^(C1)hail when the ^(C2)forest comes down,
And ^(C3)the city will be utterly laid low.

²⁰ How ^(C1)blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who ^(F1)let the ox and the donkey out freely.