Isaiah 32

Isaiah 32 belongs to Isaiah 28–33, a section made up of a series of warnings that begin with "Woe." The preceding chapter, Isaiah 31, warns against relying on Egypt and foretells the downfall of Assyria. This chapter follows it by contrasting a future of righteous rule with the judgment that precedes it.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 A time is coming when a king will reign in righteousness and princes (high officials) will rule in justice. That ruler will be like a covert from the tempest and like rivers of water in a dry place. Then the eyes and ears of the people will be opened. The fool and the deceitful person will no longer be called honorable, and the noble person will stand by noble things.
• Verses 9–14 A warning is addressed to women who are at ease and careless. In little more than a year the grape harvest will fail, so they are told to gird their loins with sackcloth and beat their breasts. Thorns and briers will come up on the land, and the palaces and cities will be forsaken and become a haunt of wild animals.
• Verses 15–20 When the Spirit is poured out from on high, the wilderness will become a fruitful field. Justice and righteousness will dwell in the land, and the result of righteousness will be peace and security forever. The chapter closes by pronouncing blessed those who sow beside all waters.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 32:1 "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness" — a verse that anticipates a righteous king. It is read together with Isaiah 9:1–7 and Isaiah 11.
• Isaiah 32:15 "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high" — the verse indicates that restoration begins with the outpouring of the Spirit of God.
• Isaiah 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace" — the verse links righteousness as the cause with peace as its result.

People and Places

No individuals or places are named.

• The king and the princes: the future rulers who will govern with righteousness and justice.
• The complacent women: commonly interpreted as the women of Judah, particularly of Jerusalem, who had settled into ease.
• The LORD: the one against whom the fool speaks perverse words in verse 6.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations of the king in verse 1 differ. Jewish tradition and some scholars read him as a historical king of Judah, such as Hezekiah, or as an ideal king. Christian tradition commonly regards the passage as a messianic prophecy and connects it with the reign of Jesus Christ. Some interpretations hold both readings together.
• The text does not specify what event the "little more than a year" of verse 10 (KJV: "many days and years") refers to. One view connects it with the Assyrian invasion of Judah.
• The outpouring of the Spirit in verse 15 is read together with Joel 2 and Ezekiel 36:25–27. It is also understood as anticipating the New Testament outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:16–21).
• The meaning of verse 19 is unclear, so translations and interpretations vary.