< Isaiah 24 >
1 Behold, Jehovah emptieth and draineth the land; Yea, he turneth it upside down, and scattereth its inhabitants.
2 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 land is utterly emptied and utterly plundered; For Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4 The land mourneth, and withereth; The world languisheth, and withereth; The nobles of the people of the land do languish.
5 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 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 mourneth; The vine languisheth; All that were of a joyful heart do sigh;
8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth; The noise of them that rejoice is at an end; The joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 No more do they drink wine with the song; Strong drink is bitter to them that use it.
10 The city of desolation is broken down; Every house is closed, so that none can enter.
11 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 smitten into ruins.
13 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 These shall lift up their voice, and sing; Yea, for the majesty of Jehovah they shall shout from the sea.
15 Wherefore praise ye Jehovah in the East, The name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea!
16 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 The terror, the pit, and the snare Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land!
18 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 is utterly broken down; The earth is shattered in pieces; The earth is violently moved from her place.
20 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 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 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 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.
