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 maketh empty the land, and layeth it waste, marreth its surface, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.

2 people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

And it shall be with the people as with the priest; with the servant as with his master; with the bondwoman as with her mistress; with the buyer as with the seller; with the lender as with the borrower; with the debtor as with his creditor.

3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered.

Empty, emptied out shall be the land, and spoiled, utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.

4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

The land mourneth, withereth away, the world languishes, withereth away, the high ones of the people of the land do languish.

5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.

For the land was defiled under its inhabitants; because they had transgressed the laws, neglected the statutes, broken 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.

Therefore hath the curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein suffer for their guilt; therefore are the inhabitants of the land dried up, and but few men are left.

7 The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted sigh.

8 The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.

At rest is the mirth of the tambourines; ceased hath the tumult of the joyful; at rest is the mirth of the harp.

9 They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.

Amidst singing shall they no [more] drink wine; bitter shall be the strong drink to those that drink it.

10 The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.

Broken down is the city of desolation; shut up is every house that none can enter.

11 In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.

A [painful] cry for wine is in the streets; darkened is all joy; banished is the mirth of the land.

12 The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble.

Destruction is left in the city, in ruins is beaten the gate.

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 thus shall it be in the midst of the land among the nations, as [at] the shaking of an olive-tree, as [at] the gleaning of grains when the vintage is done.

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.

These shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; because of the majesty of the Lord, they shout aloud 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.

Therefore in the valleys honor ye the Lord; in the isles of the sea, the name of the Lord the God of Israel.

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 edge of the earth have we heard songs, “Glory to the righteous.” But I said, “Evil is mine, evil is mine, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.”

17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.

Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land.

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 it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the call of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are opened, and there quaked the foundations of the earth.

19 The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.

Crushed entirely is the earth, split in pieces is the earth, shaken to its centre is the earth.

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 reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and vibrateth like a watch-hut; and heavily lieth upon it its transgression; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

21 In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.

And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will visit punishment on the host of heaven in heaven, and on the kings of the earth upon the earth.

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 shall be gathered in heaps, as prisoners, in the prison, and shall be shut up in the dungeon, and thus after many days shall they be punished.

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 shall be put to the blush, and the sun be made ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in glory.