1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and rulers shall rule with justice.2 And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a huge rock in a weary land.3 And the eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen.4 And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of those who stutter shall be ready to speak plainly.5 The fool shall no more be called noble, nor the miser said to be bountiful.6 For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity; to practice hypocrisy and to speak error against Jehovah, to empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to be lacking.7 Also the implements of the scoundrel are evil; he devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice.8 But the noble devises noble things; and by noble things he shall stand.9 Rise up, you women who are at ease; hear my voice, you careless daughters; listen to my speech.10 Many days and years you shall be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.11 Tremble, you women at ease; be troubled, you careless ones; strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth on your loins.12 They shall mourn for the breasts, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.13 On the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city;14 because the palaces shall be abandoned, the multitude of the city shall be deserted. Instead, the mound and tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;15 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is esteemed as a forest.16 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall remain in the fruitful field.17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the service of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever.18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places,19 though it hails upon the forest, and the city is laid low.20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send free the feet of the ox and the ass.

1 Lo! the kyng schal regne in riytfulnesse, and princes schulen be souereyns in doom.2 And a man schal be, as he that is hid fro wynd, and hidith hym silf fro tempest; as stremes of watris in thirst, and the schadewe of a stoon stondynge fer out in a desert lond.3 The iyen of profetis schulen not dasewe, and the eeris of heereris schulen herke diligentli;4 and the herte of foolis schal vndurstonde kunnyng, and the tunge of stuttynge men schal speke swiftli, and pleynli.5 He that is vnwijs, schal no more be clepid prince, and a gileful man schal not be clepid the grettere.6 Forsothe a fool shal speke foli thingis, and his herte schal do wickidnesse, that he performe feynyng, and speke to the Lord gilefuli; and he schal make voide the soule of an hungry man, and schal take awei drynke fro a thirsti man.7 The vessels of a gileful man ben worste; for he schal make redi thouytis to leese mylde men in the word of a leesyng, whanne a pore man spak doom.8 Forsothe a prince schal thenke tho thingis that ben worthi to a prince, and he schal stonde ouer duykis.9 Riche wymmen, rise ye, and here my vois; douytris tristynge, perseyue ye with eeris my speche.10 For whi aftir daies and a yeer, and ye that tristen schulen be disturblid; for whi vyndage is endid, gaderyng schal no more come.11 Ye riche wymmen, be astonyed; ye that tristen, be disturblid; vnclothe ye you, and be ye aschamed;12 girde youre leendis; weile ye on brestis, on desirable cuntrei, on the plenteuouse vyner.13 Thornes and breris schulen stie on the erthe of my puple; hou myche more on alle the housis of ioie of the citee makynge ful out ioie?14 For whi the hous is left, the multitude of the citee is forsakun; derknessis and gropyng ben maad on dennes, `til in to with outen ende. The ioie of wield assis is the lesewe of flockis;15 til the spirit be sched out on us fro an hiy, and the desert schal be in to Chermel, and Chermel schal be arettid in to a forest.16 And doom schal dwelle in wildirnesse, and riytfulnesse schal sitte in Chermel;17 and the werk of riytfulnesse schal be pees, and the tilthe of riytfulnesse schal be stilnesse and sikirnesse, `til in to with outen ende.18 And my puple schal sitte in the fairnesse of pees, and in the tabernaclis of trist, and in riche reste.19 But hail schal be in the coming doun of the foreste, and bi lownesse the citee schal be maad low.20 Blessid ben ye, that sowen on alle watris, and putten yn the foot of an oxe and of an asse.