Isaiah 24
New Century Version
The Lord Will Punish the World
24 Look! The Lord will destroy the earth and leave it empty;
he will ruin the surface of the land and scatter its people.
2 At that time the same thing will happen to everyone:
to common people and priests,
to slaves and masters,
to women slaves and their women masters,
to buyers and sellers,
to those who borrow and those who lend,
to bankers and those who owe the bank.
3 The earth will be completely empty.
The wealth will all be taken,
because the Lord has commanded it.
4 The earth will dry up and die;
the world will grow weak and die;
the great leaders in this land will become weak.
5 The people of the earth have ruined it,
because they do not follow God’s teachings
or obey God’s laws
or keep their agreement with God that was to last forever.
6 So a curse will destroy the earth.
The people of the world are guilty,
so they will be burned up;
only a few will be left.
7 The new wine will be bad, and the grapevines will die.
People who were happy will be sad.
8 The happy music of the tambourines will end.
The happy sounds of wild parties will stop.
The joyful music from the harps will end.
9 People will no longer sing while they drink their wine.
The beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10 The ruined city will be empty,
and people will hide behind closed doors.
11 People in the streets will ask for wine,
but joy will have turned to sadness;
all the happiness will have left.
12 The city will be left in ruins,
and its gates will be smashed to pieces.
13 This is what will happen all over the earth
and to all the nations.
The earth will be like an olive tree after the harvest
or like the few grapes left on a vine after harvest.
14 The people shout for joy.
From the west they praise the greatness of the Lord.
15 People in the east, praise the Lord.
People in the islands of the sea,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs from every part of the earth
praising God, the Righteous One.
But I said, “I am dying! I am dying!
How terrible it will be for me!
Traitors turn against people;
with their dishonesty, they turn against people.”
17 There are terrors, holes, and traps
for the people of the earth.
18 Anyone who tries to escape from the sound of terror
will fall into a hole.
Anyone who climbs out of the hole
will be caught in a trap.
The clouds in the sky will pour out rain,
and the foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be broken up;
the earth will split open;
the earth will shake violently.
20 The earth will stumble around like someone who is drunk;
it will shake like a hut in a storm.
Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back;
it will fall and never rise again.
21 At that time the Lord will punish
the powers in the sky above
and the rulers on earth below.
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners thrown into a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison.
After much time they will be punished.
23 The moon will be embarrassed,
and the sun will be ashamed,
because the Lord All-Powerful will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness.
Isaiah 24
New King James Version
Impending Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the (A)priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
(B)As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The (C)haughty[a] people of the earth languish.
5 (D)The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have (E)transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the (F)everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore (G)the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are [b]desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are (H)burned,
And few men are left.
7 (I)The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth (J)of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
(K)It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the Lord
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore (L)glorify the Lord in the dawning light,
(M)The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, [c]“I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
(N)The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
17 (O)Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be [d]caught in the snare;
For (P)the windows from on high are open,
And (Q)the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 (R)The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall (S)reel[e] to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth (T)the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the [f]pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the (U)moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the Lord of hosts will (V)reign
On (W)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 24:4 proud
- Isaiah 24:6 Or held guilty
- Isaiah 24:16 Lit. Leanness to me, leanness to me
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit. taken
- Isaiah 24:20 stagger
- Isaiah 24:22 dungeon
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.