Isaiah 24
1 Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
Lo, Jehovah is emptying the land, And is making it waste, And hath overturned [it on] its face, And hath scattered its inhabitants.
2 people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
And it hath been — as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maid-servant so her mistress, As the buyer so the seller, As the lender so the borrower, As the usurer so he who is lifting [it] on himself.
3 The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered.
Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath spoken this word:
4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.
Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they — the high place of the people of the land.
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 land hath been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a covenant age-during.
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 a curse hath consumed the land, And the inhabitants in it are become desolate, Therefore consumed have been inhabitants of the land, And few men have been left.
7 The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.
Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
8 The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.
Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.
9 They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.
With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink to those drinking it.
10 The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.
It was broken down — a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.
A cry over the wine [is] in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land.
12 The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble.
Left in the city [is] desolation, And [with] wasting is the gate smitten.
13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.
When thus it is in the heart of the land, In the midst of the peoples, As the compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath been finished,
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.
They — they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, They have cried 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 prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, 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 skirt of the earth we heard songs, The desire of the righteous. And I say, 'Leanness [is] to me, Leanness [is] to me, woe [is] to me.' Treacherous dealers dealt treacherously, Yea, treachery, treacherous dealers dealt treacherously.
17 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [Are] on 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 hath come to pass, He who is fleeing from the noise of the fear Doth fall into the snare, And he who is coming up from the midst of the snare, Is captured by the gin, For windows on high have been opened, And shaken are foundations of the land.
19 The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.
Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.
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.
Stagger greatly doth the land as a drunkard, And it hath been moved as a lodge, And heavy on it hath been its transgression, And it hath fallen, and addeth not to rise.
21 In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, Jehovah layeth a charge on the host of the high place in the high place, And on the kings of the land on the land.
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 have been gathered — A gathering of bound ones in a pit, And shut up they have been in a prison, And after a multitude of days are inspected.
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 confounded hath been the moon, And ashamed hath been the sun, For reigned hath Jehovah of Hosts In mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, And over-against His elders — honour!
