1Behold , a king shall reign in righteousness , and princes shall rule in justice . 2And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind , and a covert from the tempest , as streams of water in a dry place , as the shade of a great rock in a weary land. 3And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim , and the ears of them that hear shall hearken . 4And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge , and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly . 5The fool shall be no more called noble , nor the churl said to be bountiful . 6For the fool will speak folly , and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah , to make empty the soul of the hungry , and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail . 7And the instruments of the churl are evil : he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right . 8But the noble deviseth noble things ; and in noble things shall he continue .
The Effects of Righteousness on Society
9Rise up , ye women that are at ease , and hear my voice ; ye careless daughters , give ear unto my speech. 10For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled , ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail , the ingathering shall not come . 11Tremble , ye women that are at ease ; be troubled , ye careless ones; strip you , and make you bare , and gird sackcloth upon your loins . 12They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields , for the fruitful vine . 13Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers ; yea , upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city . 14For the palace shall be forsaken ; the populous city shall be deserted ; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever , a joy of wild asses , a pasture of flocks ; 15until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high , and the wilderness become a fruitful field , and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest . 16Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness ; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field . 17And the work of righteousness shall be peace ; and the effect of righteousness , quietness and confidence for ever . 18And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation , and in safe dwellings , and in quiet resting-places. 19But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest ; and the city shall be utterly laid low . 20Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters , that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass .