Isaiah 24

1 Behold, YHWH is emptying the earth, And is making it desolate, And has overturned [it on] its face, And has scattered its inhabitants.

See, the Lord is making the earth waste and unpeopled, he is turning it upside down, and sending the people in all directions.

2 And it has been—as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maidservant 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.

And it will be the same for the people as for the priest; for the servant as for his master; and for the woman-servant as for her owner; the same for the one offering goods for a price as for him who takes them; the same for him who gives money at interest and for him who takes it; the same for him who lets others have the use of his property as for those who make use of it.

3 The earth is utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled, For YHWH has spoken this word:

The earth will be completely waste and without men; for this is the word of the Lord.

4 The earth has mourned, faded, The world has languished, faded, They have languished—the high place of the people of the earth.

The earth is sorrowing and wasting away, the world is full of grief and wasting away, the high ones of the earth come to nothing.

5 And the earth has been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a perpetual covenant.

The earth has been made unclean by those living in it; because the laws have not been kept by them, the orders have been changed, and the eternal agreement has been broken.

6 Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, And the inhabitants in it become desolate, Therefore inhabitants of the earth have been consumed, And few men have been left.

For this cause the earth is given up to the curse, and those in it are judged as sinners: for this cause those living on the earth are burned up, and the rest are small in number.

7 The new wine has mourned, the vine languished, All the joyful of heart have sighed.

The new wine is thin, the vine is feeble, and all the glad-hearted make sounds of grief.

8 The joy of tambourines has ceased, The noise of exulting ones has ceased, The joy of a harp has ceased.

The pleasing sound of all instruments of music has come to an end, and the voices of those who are glad.

9 They do not drink wine with a song, Strong drink is bitter to those drinking it.

There is no more drinking of wine with a song; strong drink will be bitter to those who take it.

10 It was broken down—a city of emptiness, Every house has been shut from [its] entrance.

The town is waste and broken down: every house is shut up, so that no man may come in.

11 In out-places [is] a cry over the wine, All joy has been darkened, The joy of the land has been removed.

There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; there is an end of all delight, the joy of the land is gone.

12 Desolation [is] left in the city, And the gate is struck [with] ruin.

In the town all is waste, and in the public place is destruction.

13 When thus it is in the heart of the land, In the midst of the peoples, As the surrounding of the olive, As gleanings when harvest has been finished,

For it will be in the heart of the earth among the peoples, like the shaking of an olive-tree, as the last of the grapes after the getting-in is done.

14 They lift up their voice, They sing of the excellence of YHWH, They have cried aloud from the sea.

But those will be making sounds of joy; they will be crying loudly from the sea for the glory of the Lord.

15 Therefore honor YHWH in prosperity, In islands of the sea, the Name of YHWH, God of Israel.

Give praise to the Lord in the east, to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the sea-lands.

16 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, Indeed, treachery, treacherous dealers dealt treacherously.

From the farthest part of the earth comes the sound of songs, glory to the upright. But I said, I am wasting away, wasting away, the curse is on me! The false ones go on in their false way, yes, they go on acting falsely.

17 Fear, and a snare, and a trap, [Are] on you, O inhabitant of the earth.

Fear, and death, and the net, are come on you, O people of the earth.

18 And it has come to pass, He who is fleeing from the noise of the fear falls into the snare, And he who is coming up from the midst of the snare, Is captured by the trap, For windows have been opened on high, And foundations of the earth are shaken.

And it will be that he who goes in flight from the sound of fear will be overtaken by death; and he who gets free from death will be taken in the net: for the windows on high are open, and the bases of the earth are shaking.

19 The earth has been utterly broken down, The earth has been utterly broken, The earth has been utterly moved.

The earth is completely broken, it is parted in two, it is violently moved.

20 The earth staggers greatly as a drunkard, And it has been moved as a lodge, And its transgression has been heavy on it, And it has fallen, and does not add to rise.

The earth will be moving uncertainly, like a man overcome by drink; it will be shaking like a tent; and the weight of its sin will be on it, crushing it down so that it will not get up again.

21 And it has come to pass in that day, YHWH lays a charge on the host of the high place in the high place, And on the kings of the earth on the earth.

And in that day the Lord will send punishment on the army of the high ones on high, and on the kings of the earth on the earth.

22 And they have been gathered—A gathering of bound ones in a pit, And they have been shut up in a prison, And after a multitude of days are inspected.

And they will be got together, like prisoners in the prison-house; and after a long time they will have their punishment.

23 And the moon has been confounded, And the sun has been ashamed, For YHWH of Hosts has reigned In Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, And before His elderly—glory!

Then the moon will be veiled, and the sun put to shame; for the Lord of armies will be ruling in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his judges he will let his glory be seen.