Chapter 32
32:1 Behold a king shall reign in justice, and princes shall rule in judgment.
32:2 And a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind, and hides himself from a storm, as rivers of waters in drought, and the shadow of a rock that stands out in a desert land.
32:3 The eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken diligently.
32:4 And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers shall speak readily and plain.
32:5 The fool shall no more be called prince: neither shall the deceitful be called great.
32:6 For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and speak to the Lord deceitfully, and to make empty the soul of the hungry, and take away drink from the thirsty.
32:7 The vessels of the deceitful are most wicked: for he will frame devices to destroy the meek, with lying words, when the poor man speaks judgment.
32:8 But the prince will devise such things as are worthy of a prince, and he shall stand above the rulers.
32:9 Rise up, you rich women, and hear my voice: you confident daughters, give ear to my speech.
32:10 For after days and a year, you that are confident shall be troubled: for the vintage is at an end, the gathering shall come no more.
32:11 Be astonished, you rich women, be troubled, you confident ones: strip you, and be confounded, gird your loins.
32:12 Mourn for your breasts, for the delightful country, for the fruitful vineyard.
32:13 Upon the land of my people shall thorns and briers come up: how much more upon all the houses of joy, of the city that rejoiced?
32:14 For the house is forsaken, the multitude of the city is left, darkness and obscurity are come upon its dens for ever. A joy of wild asses, the pastures of flocks,
32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high: and the desert shall be as Carmel, and Carmel shall be counted for a forest.
32:16 And judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall sit in Carmel.
32:17 And the work of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness, and security for ever.
32:18 And my people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence, and in wealthy rest.
32:19 But hail shall be in the descent of the forest, and the city shall be made very low.
32:20 Blessed are you that sow upon all waters, sending thither the foot of the ox and the ass.
699 . Behold a king shall reign in justice . This is the third part of the threatening, in which he describes their liberation from the enemies who were threatening them then.
And first, he foretells the liberation in the manner of prophecy,
second, he recounts it in the manner of history: and it came to pass (ch. 36).
The first of these is divided into two parts:
in the first, he foretells the prosperity of the Jews;
in the second, the destruction of their enemies: woe to you that spoils (ch. 33).
700 . Concerning the first, he does two things.
First, he foretells the status of the liberated, as to the equity of the king: a king shall reign , namely, Ezechias: a king shall reign, and shall be wise (Jer 23:5); as to the prosperity of the people: and princes shall rule in judgment . As to consolation in tribulation: and a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind , above: there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytime from the heat (Isa 4:6). As to amendment in spiritual matters: the eyes of them that see , namely, the prophets, shall not be dim , as before, because of the sins of the king and the people, but shall receive clear visions from the Lord; and the ears , namely, of their subjects, shall hearken , fulfilling the precepts of the Lord given by the prophets. The heart of fools , who formerly erred following idols; and the tongue of stammerers , the prophets, who formerly spoke obscurely and enigmatically: wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent (Wis 10:21). And also as to their consequent liberty, namely, from tyrants: the fool shall no more be called prince , namely, Sennacherib, to whom formerly they paid tribute, as is evident in 2 Kings 18:14. I will deliver them out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians (Ezek 24).
701 . Second, he describes the manner of liberation: for the fool .
And first, he describes the affliction;
second, the liberation: until the spirit be poured upon us (Isa 32:15).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he describes the enemy who persecutes them;
second, the persecution: rise up, you rich women (Isa 32:9).
Concerning the first, he sets out three things.
First, the wickedness of the king himself, as to the blasphemy of his mouth: the fool , namely, Sennacherib, will speak foolish things , blasphemous words, below (Isa 37:17). The mouth of fools bubbles out folly (Prov 15:2); as to the duplicity of his heart: his heart will work iniquity , promising good land to the people, to the Lord deceitfully , saying he has come by his command, below (Isa 36:10). The thoughts of the just are counsels (Prov 12:5); as to the cruelty of his work: to make empty the soul of the hungry , despoiling them of the things by which they ought to have been nourished, against what it says in Proverbs 25:21: if your enemy be hungry, give him to eat .
702 . Second, the malice of his princes: the vessels , that is, the messengers and princes, of the deceitful , namely, of Sennacherib: a prince that gladly hears lying words, has all his servants wicked (Prov 29:12); and the execution of their malice: for he , namely, Rabsaces, about whom, see below (36), will frame ( concinnabit ), that is, compose, devices —cinnus is a kind of drink composed of different kinds of things; the poor man , the Jew: your mouth has abounded with evil, and your tongue framed deceits (Ps 49[50]:19).
703 . Third, the prudence of Ezechias in his reign: the prince , for Ezechias commanded that no one should respond to Sennacherib, above: I will restore your princes as they were before (Isa 1:26).
704 . Rich women . Here he describes the persecution inflicted on them as to three things.
First, as to the loss of fruits, stirring up attention: you women , who cry easily, rich , who have reason to cry from the ruin of their goods; or you women , that is, you feeble Jews: they that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches (Ps 48:7[49:6]). And he sets out the determination of the time: after several days and one year : for tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me (Ps 21:12[22:11]). And he sets out the loss of fruits: the vintage is at an end , destroyed, the gathering , of crops, shall come no more , into our houses from the fields: the joy of the vintage is taken away (Jer 48:33).
705 . Second, as to the devastation of the fields, he prescribes mourning, be astonished : I have put off the robe of peace (Bar 4:20), above: and the Lord in that day shall call to weeping (Isa 22:12). And he foretells harm: upon the land , above: briers and thorns shall come up (Isa 5:6) over it.
706 . Third, as to the desolation of their cities and houses, he sets out the desolation itself: how much more , namely, to be wept for, the city that rejoiced , namely, Jerusalem, whose lower part was handed over to the Assyrians, above: a populous city, a joyous city (Isa 22:2). And the magnitude of the desolation as to the houses, for they were reduced to perpetual darkness, as happens to ruined buildings: and darkness : they shall grope in the dark, and not in the light (Job 12:25); and as to their fields: a joy of wild asses , which dwell in great wildernesses: a wild ass accustomed to the wilderness (Jer 2:24).
707 . Until the spirit be poured upon us . Here he describes their liberation.
And first, he sets out the consolation of the Jews;
second, the destruction of their enemies: but hail (Isa 32:19);
third, the prophet’s congratulation: blessed are you that sow (Isa 32:20).
Concerning the first, he sets out three things.
First, divine consolation: these things, I say, will happen, when Sennacherib lays waste the land, until the spirit , divine consolation, be poured upon us : you shall know that I am the Lord, for I will send spirit into you, and you shall live (Ezek 37:5–6).
708 . Second, the manner and order of the consolation, as to the fertility of the land: and the desert shall be as Carmel, and Carmel shall be counted for a forest ; that is, your land, formerly a desert, will be so fertile like Carmel, that Carmel’s fertility will be considered barrenness in comparison to your land; above (Isa 29:19) has the same thing. As the observation of justice: and judgment shall dwell , above: Zion shall be redeemed in judgment (Isa 1:27). And as to the tranquility of peace: and the work , that is, the effect, of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness , for it will be without the tumult of contentions and wars, above: Lord, you will give us peace (Isa 26:12).
709 . Third, he sets out the pleasant enjoyment of divine consolation: and my people shall sit in the beauty of peace : but he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance (Prov 1:33).
710 . Hail , namely, of tribulation, in the descent of the forest , that is, it shall descend from the Lord upon your enemies; the city , Ninive, above: the high city he shall lay low (Isa 26:5).
711 . Blessed are you that sow . Here he shows the prophet’s congratulation: upon waters , that is, upon the places that are fertile from the abundance of the waters; sending thither the foot of the ox and the ass , not at the same time, for this was prohibited: you shall not plough with an ox and an ass together (Deut 22:10); for you shall eat the labors of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you (Ps 127[128]:2).
712 . Note on the words, the work of justice shall be peace , that the peace of the saints in heaven will be beautiful,
first, because it will not be false (Wis 15);
second, because it will not be interrupted, above: and there shall be no end of peace (Isa 9:7);
third, because it will be full: he has placed peace in your borders (Ps 147:14).
713 . Note also on the peace to come that three things make it desirable:
first, the strength of divine power: they that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells in Jerusalem (Ps 124[125]:1–2);
second, the purity of one’s own conscience: you shall walk confidently in your way, and your foot shall not stumble (Prov 3:23);
third, the removal of hostile wickedness: have confidence. I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
714 . Note also on the words, blessed are you that sow upon waters , that the teaching of the Lord is water:
first, because it abounds: I, wisdom, have poured out rivers (Sir 24:40);
second, because it cools: as cold water to a thirsty soul (Prov 25:25);
third, because it makes fruitful, below: as the rain comes down from heaven, and returns no more thither, but soaks the earth, and makes it to spring, so shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth (Isa 55:10–11);
fourth, because it carries quickly: it shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting (John 4:14);
fifth, because it conforms itself to each individually: in the streets divide your waters (Prov 5:16).