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

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 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.

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

With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath 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 faded away, and is weakened: the world faded away, the height of the people of the earth is 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 is infected by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man cometh 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 shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away.

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

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

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

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.

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

Therefore glorify ye the Lord in instruction: the name of the Lord 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 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.

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

Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou 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 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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.