Isaiah 32

General context

The chapter opens with a king who will reign in righteousness and princes who rule in judgment. A man will be a hiding place from wind, a covert from tempest, rivers in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock. Eyes will not be dim, ears will hearken, the rash will understand and stammerers will speak plainly. The vile person will no longer be called liberal nor the churl bountiful; the vile person speaks villany, works iniquity and empties the hungry, and the churl devises wicked devices against the poor even when the needy speak right, but the liberal devises liberal things and stands by them. The women at ease and the careless daughters are then addressed: they will be troubled many days and years, because the vintage will fail; they are told to tremble, strip, and gird sackcloth, lamenting for the pleasant fields and fruitful vine. Thorns and briers will come up on the land of my people and on the houses of joy in the joyous city, because palaces will be forsaken and the forts and towers become dens and pasture. This lasts until the spirit is poured from on high, when the wilderness becomes a fruitful field and the field is counted a forest. Then judgment dwells in the wilderness and righteousness in the field; the work of righteousness is peace and its effect quietness and assurance for ever, and my people dwell in peaceable habitations and quiet resting places. Hail comes down on the forest and the city is brought low, and those who sow beside all waters and send out the ox and the ass are called blessed.

Cited passages: Isaiah 32:1, Isaiah 32:2, Isaiah 32:3, Isaiah 32:4, Isaiah 32:5, Isaiah 32:6, Isaiah 32:7, Isaiah 32:8, Isaiah 32:9, Isaiah 32:10, Isaiah 32:11, Isaiah 32:12, Isaiah 32:13, Isaiah 32:14, Isaiah 32:15, Isaiah 32:16, Isaiah 32:17, Isaiah 32:18, Isaiah 32:19, Isaiah 32:20

Isaiah 32 (KJV)

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Historical context

The king of verse 1 is not named, and the text does not say whether he is a particular person or which king; the man of verse 2 is likewise unnamed, and the text does not say whether he is the same as the king. The women at ease and careless daughters are addressed directly but not identified beyond those words, and the joyous city of verse 13 is not named. The land is called the land of my people, and my people appears again in verse 18; the speaker of those phrases is not marked, and verse 9 has hear my voice from a speaker who is also not named. The phrase the fruitful field be counted for a forest repeats wording from 29:17. No date, king's name, or event is given in the chapter. The transition from the woe against Egypt in chapter 31 to a king reigning in righteousness is not explained by the text; the two chapters stand side by side without a connecting narrative.

Cited passages: Isaiah 32:1, Isaiah 32:2, Isaiah 32:9, Isaiah 32:13, Isaiah 32:18, Isaiah 32:15, Isaiah 29:17, Isaiah 31:9

Literary context

The chapter has three movements. The first, verses 1 to 8, describes a reign in which names match realities: eyes see, ears hear, the rash understand, and the vile are no longer called liberal. The vile person and the churl are described by what they do to the hungry, the thirsty and the poor, and the liberal by his devising, so the contrast is one of deeds. The second movement, verses 9 to 14, turns abruptly to command: rise up, hear, tremble, strip, gird sackcloth, and the failed vintage undoes the joy of the joyous city. The third movement hinges on one word, until, in verse 15: the spirit poured from on high reverses the thorns and forsaken palaces into a fruitful field and quiet resting places. Righteousness appears at both ends, in the king's reign and in the field where it remains, and its work is named as peace. The hiding place, covert, rivers and rock shadow in verse 2 echo the refuge and shadow of 25:4. The closing beatitude on sowers beside all waters ends a chapter whose middle lamented a failed vintage.

Cited passages: Isaiah 32:3, Isaiah 32:5, Isaiah 32:6, Isaiah 32:8, Isaiah 32:11, Isaiah 32:10, Isaiah 32:15, Isaiah 32:16, Isaiah 32:17, Isaiah 32:2, Isaiah 25:4, Isaiah 32:20

Key moments

1. A king reigns in righteousness (Isaiah 32:1). A king and princes rule in righteousness and judgment.
2. Shelter like a great rock (Isaiah 32:2). A man is a hiding place from wind and the shadow of a rock in a weary land.
3. Names match deeds (Isaiah 32:5). The vile person is no longer called liberal nor the churl bountiful.
4. Careless women told to tremble (Isaiah 32:11). The women at ease are told to strip and gird sackcloth for the failed vintage.
5. Palaces forsaken (Isaiah 32:14). Forts and towers become dens for wild asses and pasture for flocks.
6. The spirit poured from on high (Isaiah 32:15). The wilderness becomes a fruitful field when the spirit is poured out.
7. Quiet resting places (Isaiah 32:18). The Lord's people dwell in peaceable habitations and sure dwellings.

For reflection

The chapter says that under a righteous reign the vile will no longer be called liberal nor the churl bountiful. What does the text suggest about the gap between what people are called and what they do to the hungry and the poor?