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 maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad 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 it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him.

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

The land shall be utterly emptied, and 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 mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth 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 earth also is defiled under its inhabitants; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 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 hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell in it are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men 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 the merryhearted 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 endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

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; strong 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 confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may 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 crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

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

In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with 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,

When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

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

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud 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 the fires, even the name of the LORD 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 uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe to me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

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 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 who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

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 all dissolved, the earth is exceedingly 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 shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression of it shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, 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 in that day, that the LORD shall 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.

And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and 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!

Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.