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 makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters 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; 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 Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath spoken this word:

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD has 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 mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

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.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, 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 has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

7 Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.

The new wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry hearted do sigh.

8 Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.

The delight of timbrels ceases, the noise of them that rejoice ends, the joy of the harp ceases.

9 With a song they drink not wine, Bitter is strong drink 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, Shut hath been every house from entrance.

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

12 Left in the city [is] desolation, And [with] wasting is the gate smitten.

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 compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath 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 — they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, 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 in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.

Wherefore glorify all of you 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, Yea, 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 unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

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 you, O 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 who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that comes 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 Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.

The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

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.

The earth shall reel back and forth like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, 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 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 shut up they have been 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 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!

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