< 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, Jehovah is emptying the land, And is making it waste, And hath overturned [it on] its face, And hath scattered 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.
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 devastated and utterly plundered. For the Lord has spoken this word.
Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, 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.
Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they — the high place of the people of the land.
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.
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 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 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 vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned.
Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
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 joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.
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 those drinking it.
10 The city of vanity has been worn away. Every house has been closed up; no one enters.
It was broken down — a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.
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.
A cry over the wine [is] in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land.
12 Solitude is what remains in the city, and calamity will overwhelm its gates.
Left in the city [is] desolation, And [with] wasting is the gate smitten.
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 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 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 — they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, They have cried 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 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 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 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 Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant of the earth!
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [Are] on 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.
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 will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken!
Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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!