1Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness , and princes shall rule in judgment . 2And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind , and a covert from the tempest ; as rivers of water in a dry place , as the shadow 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 . 4The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge , and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly . 5The vile person shall be no more called liberal , nor the churl said to be bountiful . 6For the vile person will speak villany , and his heart will work iniquity , to practise hypocrisy , and to utter error against the LORD , to make empty the soul of the hungry , and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail . 7The instruments also of the churl are evil : he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words , even when the needy speaketh right . 8But the liberal deviseth liberal things ; and by liberal things shall he stand .
The Effects of Righteousness on Society
9Rise up , ye women that are at ease ; hear my voice , ye careless daughters ; give ear unto my speech . 10Many days and years shall ye be troubled , ye careless women : for the vintage shall fail , the gathering 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 lament for the teats , 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 : 14Because the palaces shall be forsaken ; the multitude of the city shall be left ; the forts and towers 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 be a fruitful field , and the fruitful field be counted for a forest . 16Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness , and righteousness remain in the fruitful field . 17And the work of righteousness shall be peace ; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever . 18And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation , and in sure dwellings , and in quiet resting places ; 19When it shall hail , coming down on the forest ; and the city shall be low in a low place . 20Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters , that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass .