Isaiah 32:15-18

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ¹ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ² 

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard. ³ 

32:17 Fairness will produce peace ⁴ 

and result in lasting security. ⁵ 

32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,

in secure homes,

and in safe, quiet places. ⁶ 

Isaiah 66:12

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ⁷ 

You will nurse from her breast ⁸  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

Psalms 36:8

36:8 They are filled with food from your house,

and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.

Psalms 119:165

119:165 Those who love your law are completely secure; ⁹ 

nothing causes them to stumble. ¹⁰ 

Amos 5:24

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ¹¹  like a stream that never dries up.

Romans 14:17

14:17 For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

[32:15]  ¹ tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ² sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.

[32:16]  ³ sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.

[32:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”

[32:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”

[32:18]  ⁶ tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”

[66:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ⁸ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

[119:165]  ⁹ tn Heb “great peace [is] to the lovers of your law.”

[119:165]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and there is no stumbling to them.”

[5:24]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”