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.

Lo! Yahweh emptying the earth and laying it waste, —And he will overturn the face thereof, And scatter them who dwell therein.

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.

And it shall be—As the people, so, the priest, As the servant, so his lord, As the maid, so, her mistress, —As the buyer, so, the seller, As the lender, so, the borrower, As the debtor, so! his creditor.

3 The earth will be utterly devastated and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this word.

Emptied—emptied—shall be the earth yea pillaged—pillaged, —For, Yahweh, 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.

Mourneth, fadeth, the earth Languisheth, fadeth, the world, —Languished have the lofty of the people of the earth.

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.

Yea the earth itself is profaned under them who dwell therein, —For they have Set aside laws, Gone beyond statute, Broken an age-abiding 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.

For this cause, a curse, hath devoured the earth, And punished are the dwellers therein, —For this cause, are burned the inhabitants of the earth, And the men left remaining—are few.

7 The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned.

Mourneth the new wine. Withereth the vine, —Sighing are all the merryhearted:

8 The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced.

Ceased hath the mirth of timbrels, Ended is the noise of the uproarious, —Ceased hath the mirth of the lyre:

9 They will not drink wine with a song. The drink will be bitter to those who drink it.

With a song, they drink not wine, —Bitter is strong drink, to them who drink it:

10 The city of vanity has been worn away. Every house has been closed up; no one enters.

Broken down is the city of desolation, —Shut up every house that it cannot be entered.

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 an outcry concerning wine in the streets, —Darkened is all joy, Departed the gladness of the earth.

12 Solitude is what remains in the city, and calamity will overwhelm its gates.

There is left in the city. desolation, —And to ruins, have been broken the gate.

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.

When, thus, it shall be in the earth in the midst of the peoples, [There shall be] like the shaking of an olive-tree, like the going round to pick when closed is the harvest.

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.

They, shall lift up their voice—shall raise a tremulous note, —On account of the splendour of Yahweh, have they made a shrill cry, on the West;

15 Because of this, glorify the Lord in doctrine: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.

For this cause, In the Regions of Light, give ye glory to Yahweh, —In the Coastlands of the Sea, unto the Name of Yahweh. God of Israel,

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 uttermost part of the earth, melodies, have we heard—Beauty, to the righteous one! But I had said—Ruin to me! Ruin to me! Woe to me! Traitors, have betrayed, Yea traitorously, have traitors betrayed!

17 Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant of the earth!

Terror and pit and snare, —are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth!

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.

So shall it be—He that fleeth from the sound of the terror! shall fall into the pit, And, he that getteth up out of the midst of the pit, shall be captured in the snare, —For, the windows on high, have opened, And shaken are the foundations of earth.

19 The earth will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken!

The earth breaketh, breaketh, —The earth crasheth, crasheth, The earth tottereth, tottereth;

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 staggereth—staggereth like a drunken man, And rocketh to and fro like a night-hut, —So shall be heavy upon her, her transgression, And she shall fall and not again rise.

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.

And it shall be in that day, That Yahweh will bring punishment Upon the host of the height in the height, —And upon the kings of the ground on the ground.

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.

And they shall be swept together in a crowd, fettered for a pit, And shall be lowered into a dungeon, —And, after many days, shall they be punished.

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.

Then shall blush the silvery moon, Then turn pale the glowing sun, —Because Yahweh of hosts hath become king In Mount Zion And in Jerusalem, And before his Elders in glory,