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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.

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. 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.