< Isaiah 24 >

1 Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad 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 it shall 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 lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with him from whom usury is taken.
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 land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath spoken this word:
4 The land mourneth, it fadeth away; the world languisheth, it fadeth away: the haughty people of the land do languish.
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 land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, 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 doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left.
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 mourneth, the vine languisheth, all that were merry-hearted do sigh;
Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
8 the mirth of tambours ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.
9 They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it.
With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink to those drinking it.
10 The city of solitude is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none entereth in.
It was broken down — a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.
11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone;
A cry over the wine [is] in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land.
12 desolation remaineth in the city, and the gate is smitten, — a ruin.
Left in the city [is] desolation, And [with] wasting is the gate smitten.
13 For so will it be in the midst of the land among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the grape-gleanings when the vintage is done.
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 shall lift up their voice, they shall shout for the majesty of Jehovah, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
They — they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, They have cried aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore glorify Jehovah in the east, the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the west.
Therefore in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.
16 From the end of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous! And I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.
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 Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant of the land.
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [Are] on thee, O inhabitant of the land.
18 And it shall come to pass, [that] he who fleeth from the sound of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows on high are open, and the foundations of the earth shake.
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 down, the earth is completely dissolved, the earth is violently moved.
Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.
20 The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and is shaken like a night hut; and its transgression is heavy upon it; and it falleth and shall not 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 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
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 shall be brought together, [as] an assemblage of prisoners for the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they 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 shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts shall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in 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!

< Isaiah 24 >