Isaiah 24

1 Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof.

Behold, the Lord maketh empty the land, and layeth it waste, marreth its surface, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.

2 And it 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 him that calleth for his money, so with him that oweth.

And it shall be with the people as with the priest; with the servant as with his master; with the bondwoman as with her mistress; with the buyer as with the seller; with the lender as with the borrower; with the debtor as with his creditor.

3 With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

Empty, emptied out shall be the land, and spoiled, utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.

4 The earth mourned, and faded away, and is weakened: the world faded away, the height of the people of the earth is weakened.

The land mourneth, withereth away, the world languishes, withereth away, the high ones of the people of the land do languish.

5 And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant.

For the land was defiled under its inhabitants; because they had transgressed the laws, neglected the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin: and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad, and few men shall be left.

Therefore hath the curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein suffer for their guilt; therefore are the inhabitants of the land dried up, and but few men are left.

7 The vintage hath mourned, the vine hath languished away, all the merryhearted have sighed.

The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted sigh.

8 The mirth of timbrels hath ceased, the noise of them that rejoice is ended, the melody of the harp is silent.

At rest is the mirth of the tambourines; ceased hath the tumult of the joyful; at rest is the mirth of the harp.

9 They shall not drink wine with a song: the drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

Amidst singing shall they no [more] drink wine; bitter shall be the strong drink to those that drink it.

10 The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man cometh in.

Broken down is the city of desolation; shut up is every house that none can enter.

11 There shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away.

A [painful] cry for wine is in the streets; darkened is all joy; banished is the mirth of the land.

12 Desolation is left in the city, and calamity shall oppress the gates.

Destruction is left in the city, in ruins is beaten the gate.

13 For it shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of the olive tree: or grapes, when the vintage is ended.

For thus shall it be in the midst of the land among the nations, as [at] the shaking of an olive-tree, as [at] the gleaning of grains when the vintage is done.

14 These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise: when the Lord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea.

These shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; because of the majesty of the Lord, they shout aloud from the sea.

15 Therefore glorify ye the Lord in instruction: the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

Therefore in the valleys honor ye the Lord; in the isles of the sea, the name of the Lord the God of Israel.

16 From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the just one. And I said: My secret to myself, my secret to myself, woe is me: the prevaricators have prevaricated, and with the prevarication of transgressors they have prevaricated.

From the edge of the earth have we heard songs, “Glory to the righteous.” But I said, “Evil is mine, evil is mine, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.”

17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the earth.

Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land.

18 And it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall rid himself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for the flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.

And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the call of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are opened, and there quaked the foundations of the earth.

19 With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved.

Crushed entirely is the earth, split in pieces is the earth, shaken to its centre is the earth.

20 With shaking shall the earth be shaken as a drunken man, and shall be removed as the tent of one night: and the iniquity thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fell, and not rise again.

The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and vibrateth like a watch-hut; and heavily lieth upon it its transgression; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

21 And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth, on the earth.

And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will visit punishment on the host of heaven in heaven, and on the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22 And they shall be gathered together as in the gathering of one bundle into the pit, and they shall be shut up there in prison: and after many days they shall be visited.

And they shall be gathered in heaps, as prisoners, in the prison, and shall be shut up in the dungeon, and thus after many days shall they be punished.

23 And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be glorified in the sight of his ancients.

And the moon shall be put to the blush, and the sun be made ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in glory.