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, Jehovah emptieth and draineth the land; Yea, he turneth it upside down, and scattereth 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.
As with the people, so is it with the priest; As with the servant, so with the master; As with the maid, so with the mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the borrower, so with the lender; As with the usurer, so with the giver of usury.
3 The earth is utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled, For YHWH has spoken this word:
The land is utterly emptied and utterly plundered; For Jehovah 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 land mourneth, and withereth; The world languisheth, and withereth; The nobles of the people of the land do languish.
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 land was polluted under its inhabitants, Because they transgressed the law, they violated the statutes, They broke 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 a curse devoured the land; Its inhabitants suffered for their guilt; Therefore are the inhabitants of the land consumed with heat, And few of the men are left.
7 The new wine has mourned, the vine languished, All the joyful of heart have sighed.
The new wine mourneth; The vine languisheth; All that were of a joyful heart do sigh;
8 The joy of tambourines has ceased, The noise of exulting ones has ceased, The joy of a harp has ceased.
The mirth of tabrets ceaseth; The noise of them that rejoice is at an end; The joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 They do not drink wine with a song, Strong drink is bitter to those drinking it.
No more do they drink wine with the song; Strong drink is bitter to them that use it.
10 It was broken down—a city of emptiness, Every house has been shut from [its] entrance.
The city of desolation is broken down; Every house is closed, so that none can enter.
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 cry for wine in the streets; All gladness is departed; The mirth of the land is gone;
12 Desolation [is] left in the city, And the gate is struck [with] ruin.
Desolation is left in the city, And the gate is smitten into ruins.
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,
Yea, thus shall it be in the land, in the midst of the people, As when the olive-tree has been shaken; As the gleaning, 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 sing; Yea, for the majesty of Jehovah they shall shout from the sea.
15 Therefore honor YHWH in prosperity, In islands of the sea, the Name of YHWH, God of Israel.
Wherefore praise ye Jehovah in the East, The name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles 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 end of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I cry, Alas, my wretchedness, my wretchedness! woe is me! The plunderers plunder; the plunderers seize the spoil.
17 Fear, and a snare, and a trap, [Are] on you, O inhabitant of the earth.
The terror, the pit, and the snare Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land!
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.
Whoso fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit, And whoso escapeth from the pit, He shall be taken in the snare; For the floodgates of heaven are opened, And the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth has been utterly broken down, The earth has been utterly broken, The earth has been utterly moved.
The earth is utterly broken down; The earth is shattered in pieces; The earth is violently moved from her place.
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 reeleth like a drunkard, It moveth to and fro like a hammock; For her iniquity lieth heavy upon her, And she shall fall and rise no more.
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.
In that day will Jehovah punish the host of the high ones that are on high, And the kings of the earth upon 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.
They shall be thrown together bound into the pit, And shall be shut up in the prison, But after many days shall they 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!
The moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, When Jehovah of hosts shall reign in mount Zion and Jerusalem, And his glory shall be before his ancients.
