Isaiah 24
1 Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
Behold, the Lord will lay waste to the earth, and he will strip it, and he will afflict its surface, and he will scatter its inhabitants.
2 people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
And this shall be: as with the people, so with the priest; and as with the servant, so with his master; as with the handmaid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered.
The earth will be utterly devastated and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.
The earth mourned, and slipped away, and languished. The world slipped away; the loftiness of the people of the earth was weakened.
5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.
And the earth was corrupted by its inhabitants. For they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have dissipated the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.
Because of this, a curse will devour the earth, and its inhabitants will sin. And for this reason, its caretakers will become crazed, and few men will be left behind.
7 The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.
The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned.
8 The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.
The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced.
9 They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.
They will not drink wine with a song. The drink will be bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.
The city of vanity has been worn away. Every house has been closed up; no one enters.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.
There will be a clamor for wine in the streets. All rejoicing has been abandoned. The gladness of the earth has been carried away.
12 The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble.
Solitude is what remains in the city, and calamity will overwhelm its gates.
13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.
For so shall it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people: it is as if the few remaining olives are being shaken from the olive tree, and it is like a few clusters of grapes, when the grape harvest has already ended.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.
These few shall lift up their voice and give praise. When the Lord will have been glorified, they will make a joyful noise from the sea.
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.
Because of this, glorify the Lord in doctrine: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
From the ends of the earth, we have heard the praises of the glory of the Just One. And I said: “My secret is for myself! My secret is for myself! Woe to me! Those who would betray us have betrayed us, and they have betrayed us with the betrayal of transgression.”
17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
And this shall be: whoever will flee from the voice of dread will fall into the pit. And whoever will extricate himself from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the floodgates from above have been opened, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken.
19 The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.
The earth will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken!
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
The earth will stagger greatly, like a drunken man, and will be carried away, like the tent of a single night. And its iniquity will be heavy upon it, and it will fall and not rise up again.
21 In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
And this shall be: in that day, the Lord will visit upon the armies of the sky above, and upon the kings of the earth who are on the ground.
22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days.
And they will be gathered together like the gathering of one bundle into a pit. And they will be enclosed in that place, as in a prison. And after many days, they will be visited.
23 The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be confounded, when the Lord of hosts will reign on mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and when he will have been glorified in the sight of his elders.
