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Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.
Isaiah 32:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then justice will dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field.
  • KJV Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
  • NKJV Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
  • NASB Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.
  • NLT Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness in the fruitful field. It matters because the Spirit's outpouring establishes justice and righteousness everywhere.

Overview

With the Spirit poured out, justice and righteousness pervade both wild and cultivated land. The renewal is moral as well as material. This pictures the comprehensive transformation of the Spirit-filled age, where God's character marks His people and His world under the reign of the righteous King.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Isa 42:4He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
  • Isa 56:6–8And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—
  • Ps 94:14–15For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
  • Hos 3:5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
  • 1 Cor 6:9–11Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
  • Titus 2:11–12For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
  • 1 Pet 4:1–4Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
  • 1 Pet 2:9–12But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
  • Isa 60:21Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
  • Isa 35:8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 32:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 32:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.