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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

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 mourned, and slipped away, and languished. The world slipped away; the loftiness of the people of the earth was weakened.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned.

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

The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced.

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

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

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

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

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

There will be a clamor for wine in the streets. All rejoicing has been abandoned. The gladness of the earth has been carried away.

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

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

Because of this, glorify the Lord in doctrine: the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.

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 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.”

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

Dread, and the pit, and the snare are over you, O inhabitant 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 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.

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

The earth will be utterly broken! The earth will be utterly crushed! The earth will be utterly shaken!

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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!

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.