| NET Bible | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Look, a king will promote fairness; officials will promote justice. | 1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. |
| 2Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from a rainstorm; like streams of water in a dry region and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land. | 2Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land. |
| 3Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive. | 3Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. |
| 4The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity. | 4The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently. |
| 5A fool will no longer be called honorable; a deceiver will no longer be called principled. | 5No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected. |
| 6For a fool speaks disgraceful things; his mind plans out sinful deeds. He commits godless deeds and says misleading things about the LORD; he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. | 6For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink. |
| 7A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right. | 7The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. |
| 8An honorable man makes honorable plans; his honorable character gives him security. | 8But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes. |
| 9You complacent women, get up and listen to me! You carefree daughters, pay attention to what I say! | 9Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters. |
| 10In a year's time you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive. | 10In a little more than a year you will tremble, O secure ones. For the grape harvest will fail and the fruit harvest will not arrive. |
| 11Tremble, you complacent ones! Shake with fear, you carefree ones! Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves--put sackcloth on your waist! | 11Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists. |
| 12Mourn over the field, over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine! | 12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines, |
| 13Mourn over the land of my people, which is overgrown with thorns and briers, and over all the once-happy houses in the city filled with revelry. | 13and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry. |
| 14For the fortress is neglected; the once-crowded city is abandoned. Hill and watchtower are permanently uninhabited. Wild donkeys love to go there, and flocks graze there. | 14For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—the delight of wild donkeys and a pasture for flocks— |
| 15This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. Then the desert will become an orchard and the orchard will be considered a forest. | 15until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high. Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest. |
| 16Justice will settle down in the desert and fairness will live in the orchard. | 16Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field. |
| 17Fairness will produce peace and result in lasting security. | 17The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. |
| 18My people will live in peaceful settlements, in secure homes, and in safe, quiet places. | 18Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest. |
| 19Even if the forest is destroyed and the city is annihilated, | 19But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink to the depths. |
| 20you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze. | 20Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely. |
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