Isaiah 24
1 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.
Behold, Jehovah emptieth and draineth the land; Yea, he turneth it upside down, and scattereth its inhabitants.
2 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.
As with the people, so is it with the priest; As with the servant, so with the master; As with the maid, so with the mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the borrower, so with the lender; As with the usurer, so with the giver of usury.
3 The earth will be utterly devastated and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this word.
The land is utterly emptied and utterly plundered; For Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourned, and slipped away, and languished. The world slipped away; the loftiness of the people of the earth was weakened.
The land mourneth, and withereth; The world languisheth, and withereth; The nobles of the people of the land do languish.
5 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.
The land was polluted under its inhabitants, Because they transgressed the law, they violated the statutes, They broke the everlasting covenant.
6 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.
Therefore a curse devoured the land; Its inhabitants suffered for their guilt; Therefore are the inhabitants of the land consumed with heat, And few of the men are left.
7 The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned.
The new wine mourneth; The vine languisheth; All that were of a joyful heart do sigh;
8 The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced.
The mirth of tabrets ceaseth; The noise of them that rejoice is at an end; The joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 They will not drink wine with a song. The drink will be bitter to those who drink it.
No more do they drink wine with the song; Strong drink is bitter to them that use it.
10 The city of vanity has been worn away. Every house has been closed up; no one enters.
The city of desolation is broken down; Every house is closed, so that none can enter.
11 There will be a clamor for wine in the streets. All rejoicing has been abandoned. The gladness of the earth has been carried away.
There is a cry for wine in the streets; All gladness is departed; The mirth of the land is gone;
12 Solitude is what remains in the city, and calamity will overwhelm its gates.
Desolation is left in the city, And the gate is smitten into ruins.
13 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.
Yea, thus shall it be in the land, in the midst of the people, As when the olive-tree has been shaken; As the gleaning, when the vintage is ended.
14 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.
These shall lift up their voice, and sing; Yea, for the majesty of Jehovah they shall shout from the sea.
15 Because of this, glorify the Lord in doctrine: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
Wherefore praise ye Jehovah in the East, The name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea!
16 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.”
From the end of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I cry, Alas, my wretchedness, my wretchedness! woe is me! The plunderers plunder; the plunderers seize the spoil.
17 Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant of the earth!
The terror, the pit, and the snare Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land!
18 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.
Whoso fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit, And whoso escapeth from the pit, He shall be taken in the snare; For the floodgates of heaven are opened, And the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken!
The earth is utterly broken down; The earth is shattered in pieces; The earth is violently moved from her place.
20 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.
The earth reeleth like a drunkard, It moveth to and fro like a hammock; For her iniquity lieth heavy upon her, And she shall fall and rise no more.
21 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.
In that day will Jehovah punish the host of the high ones that are on high, And the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 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.
They shall be thrown together bound into the pit, And shall be shut up in the prison, But after many days shall they be visited.
23 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.
The moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, When Jehovah of hosts shall reign in mount Zion and Jerusalem, And his glory shall be before his ancients.
