< Isaiah 24 >

1 Lo, Jehovah is emptying the land, And is making it waste, And hath overturned [it on] its face, And hath 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 hath been — as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maid-servant 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 Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath 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 Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they — the high place of the people of the land.
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 land hath been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a covenant age-during.
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 hath consumed the land, And the inhabitants in it are become desolate, Therefore consumed have been inhabitants of the land, 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 Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
The vintage hath mourned, the vine hath languished away, all the merryhearted have sighed.
8 Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.
The mirth of timbrels hath ceased, the noise of them that rejoice is ended, the melody of the harp is silent.
9 With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink 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, Shut hath been every house from entrance.
The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man cometh in.
11 A cry over the wine [is] in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land.
There shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away.
12 Left in the city [is] desolation, And [with] wasting is the gate smitten.
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 compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath 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 — they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, 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 in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, 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, Yea, 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 gin, [Are] on thee, O inhabitant of the land.
Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it hath come to pass, He who is fleeing from the noise of the fear Doth fall into the snare, And he who is coming up from the midst of the snare, Is captured by the gin, For windows on high have been opened, And shaken are foundations of the land.
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 Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.
With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved.
20 Stagger greatly doth the land as a drunkard, And it hath been moved as a lodge, And heavy on it hath been its transgression, And it hath fallen, and addeth not 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 hath come to pass, in that day, Jehovah layeth a charge on the host of the high place in the high place, And on the kings of the land on the land.
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 shut up they have been 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 confounded hath been the moon, And ashamed hath been the sun, For reigned hath Jehovah of Hosts In mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, And over-against His elders — honour!
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.

< Isaiah 24 >