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, the LORD makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters 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.

It will be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest.

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

The earth will be utterly emptied and utterly laid waste; for the LORD has 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 earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The lofty people of the earth 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 earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken 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 the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burnt, and few 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 mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted 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 tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends. The joy of the harp ceases.

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

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

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

The confused city is broken down. Every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

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 crying in the streets because of the wine. All joy is darkened. The mirth of the land is gone.

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

The city is left in desolation, and the gate is struck with destruction.

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.

For it will be so within the earth amongst the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done.

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. They will shout for the majesty of the LORD. They cry aloud 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.

Therefore glorify the LORD in the east, even the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands 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 uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs. Glory to the righteous! But I said, “I pine away! I pine away! woe is me!” The treacherous have dealt treacherously. Yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.

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

Fear, the pit, and the snare are on you who inhabit 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.

It will happen that he who flees from the noise of the fear will fall into the pit; and he who comes up out of the middle of the pit will be taken in the snare; for the windows on high 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. The earth is torn apart. The earth is shaken violently.

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 will stagger like a drunken man, and will sway back and forth like a hammock. Its disobedience will be heavy on it, and it will fall and not rise again.

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.

It will happen in that day that the LORD will punish the army of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on 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 will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; and after many days they will 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.

Then the moon will be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem; and glory will be before his elders.