Isaiah 24-26

English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24 Behold, ^(A)the Lord will empty the earth^[a] and make it desolate,
    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
²^(B)And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
    as with the maid, so with her mistress;
^(C)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    ^(D)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³^(E)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    ^(F)for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴^(G)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
⁵The earth lies ^(H)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for ^(I)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶Therefore ^(J)a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants ^(K)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
⁷^(L)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸^(M)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹No more do they drink wine ^(N)with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰^(O)The wasted city is broken down;
    ^(P)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹^(Q)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    ^(R)all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹²Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
    among the nations,
^(S)as when an olive tree is beaten,
    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
    over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.^[b]
¹⁵^(T)Therefore in the east^[c] give glory to the Lord;
    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶^(U)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
    of glory to ^(V)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
    I waste away. Woe is me!
For ^(W)the traitors have betrayed,
    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

¹⁷^(X)Terror and the pit and the snare^[d]
    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸^(Y)He who flees at the sound of the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For ^(Z)the windows of heaven are opened,
    and ^(AA)the foundations of the earth tremble.
¹⁹The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰The earth ^(AB)staggers like a drunken man;
    it sways like a hut;
^(AC)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
    and it falls, and will not rise again.

²¹On that day the Lord will punish
    the host of heaven, in heaven,
    and ^(AD)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
²²^(AE)They will be gathered together
    as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
    and after many days ^(AF)they will be punished.
²³^(AG)Then the moon will be confounded
    and the sun ashamed,
for ^(AH)the Lord of hosts reigns
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

25 O Lord, ^(AI)you are my God;
    ^(AJ)I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    ^(AK)plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
²For you have made the city ^(AL)a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
³^(AM)Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
⁴^(AN)For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    ^(AO)a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
^(AP)for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
⁵    ^(AQ)like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

⁶^(AR)On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    ^(AS)of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷And he will swallow up ^(AT)on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    ^(AU)the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸    ^(AV)He will swallow up death forever;
and ^(AW)the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and ^(AX)the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    ^(AY)for the Lord has spoken.
⁹It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; ^(AZ)we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    ^(BA)let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
¹⁰For the hand of the Lord will rest ^(BB)on this mountain,
    and ^(BC)Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.^[e]
¹¹^(BD)And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the Lord ^(BE)will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill^[f] of his hands.
¹²And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

26 In that day ^(BF)this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
    he sets up ^(BG)salvation
    as walls and bulwarks.
²^(BH)Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
³^(BI)You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
⁴Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
⁵^(BJ)For he has humbled
    the inhabitants of the height,
    the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
    casts it to the dust.
⁶The foot tramples it,
    the feet of ^(BK)the poor,
    the steps of ^(BL)the needy.”

⁷The path of the righteous is level;
    ^(BM)you make level the way of the righteous.
⁸In the path of your judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for you;
^(BN)your name and ^(BO)remembrance
    are the desire of our soul.
⁹My soul yearns for you in the night;
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
^(BP)For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
¹⁰^(BQ)If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹O Lord, ^(BR)your hand is lifted up,
    but ^(BS)they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let ^(BT)the fire for your adversaries consume them.
¹²O Lord, you will ordain ^(BU)peace for us,
    for you have indeed done for us all our works.
¹³O Lord our God,
    ^(BV)other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    ^(BW)but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
¹⁴They are dead, they will not live;
    they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
    and wiped out all remembrance of them.
¹⁵^(BX)But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    ^(BY)you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

¹⁶O Lord, ^(BZ)in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a whispered prayer
    when your discipline was upon them.
¹⁷^(CA)Like a pregnant woman
    who writhes and cries out in her pangs
    when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
¹⁸    ^(CB)we were pregnant, we writhed,
    but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
¹⁹^(CC)Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For ^(CD)your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead.

²⁰Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves ^(CE)for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.
²¹^(CF)For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of ^(CG)the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
    and will no more cover its slain.

Footnotes

Isaiah 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter
Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew from the sea
Isaiah 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires
Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike
Isaiah 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike
Isaiah 25:11 Or in spite of the skill

Isaiah 24-26

New International Version

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth^(A)
    and devastate^(B) it;
he will ruin its face
    and scatter^(C) its inhabitants—
²it will be the same
    for priest as for people,^(D)
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,^(E)
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor.^(F)
³The earth will be completely laid waste^(G)
    and totally plundered.^(H)
The Lord has spoken^(I) this word.

⁴The earth dries up^(J) and withers,^(K)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens^(L) languish with the earth.^(M)
⁵The earth is defiled^(N) by its people;
    they have disobeyed^(O) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.^(P)
⁶Therefore a curse^(Q) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,^(R)
    and very few are left.
⁷The new wine dries up^(S) and the vine withers;^(T)
    all the merrymakers groan.^(U)
⁸The joyful timbrels^(V) are stilled,
    the noise^(W) of the revelers^(X) has stopped,
    the joyful harp^(Y) is silent.^(Z)
⁹No longer do they drink wine^(AA) with a song;
    the beer is bitter^(AB) to its drinkers.
¹⁰The ruined city^(AC) lies desolate;^(AD)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
¹¹In the streets they cry out^(AE) for wine;^(AF)
    all joy turns to gloom,^(AG)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
¹²The city is left in ruins,^(AH)
    its gate^(AI) is battered to pieces.
¹³So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,^(AJ)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.^(AK)

¹⁴They raise their voices, they shout for joy;^(AL)
    from the west^(AM) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵Therefore in the east^(AN) give glory^(AO) to the Lord;
    exalt^(AP) the name^(AQ) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands^(AR) of the sea.
¹⁶From the ends of the earth^(AS) we hear singing:^(AT)
    “Glory^(AU) to the Righteous One.”^(AV)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!^(AW)
    Woe^(AX) to me!
The treacherous^(AY) betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!^(AZ)”
¹⁷Terror^(BA) and pit and snare^(BB) await you,
    people of the earth.^(BC)
¹⁸Whoever flees^(BD) at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;^(BE)
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.^(BF)

The floodgates of the heavens^(BG) are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.^(BH)
¹⁹The earth is broken up,^(BI)
    the earth is split asunder,^(BJ)
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰The earth reels like a drunkard,^(BK)
    it sways like a hut^(BL) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion^(BM)
    that it falls^(BN)—never to rise again.^(BO)

²¹In that day^(BP) the Lord will punish^(BQ)
    the powers^(BR) in the heavens above
    and the kings^(BS) on the earth below.
²²They will be herded together
    like prisoners^(BT) bound in a dungeon;^(BU)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished^[a] after many days.^(BV)
²³The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun^(BW) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign^(BX)
    on Mount Zion^(BY) and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders—with great glory.^(BZ)

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;^(CA)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,^(CB)
for in perfect faithfulness^(CC)
    you have done wonderful things,^(CD)
    things planned^(CE) long ago.
²You have made the city a heap of rubble,^(CF)
    the fortified^(CG) town a ruin,^(CH)
the foreigners’ stronghold^(CI) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.^(CJ)
³Therefore strong peoples will honor you;^(CK)
    cities of ruthless^(CL) nations will revere you.
⁴You have been a refuge^(CM) for the poor,^(CN)
    a refuge for the needy^(CO) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm^(CP)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless^(CQ)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
⁵    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence^(CR) the uproar of foreigners;^(CS)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless^(CT) is stilled.

⁶On this mountain^(CU) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast^(CV) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.^(CW)
⁷On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud^(CX) that enfolds all peoples,^(CY)
the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸    he will swallow up death^(CZ) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears^(DA)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace^(DB)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.^(DC)

⁹In that day^(DD) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;^(DE)
we trusted^(DF) in him, and he saved^(DG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice^(DH) and be glad in his salvation.”^(DI)

¹⁰The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;^(DJ)
    but Moab^(DK) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
¹¹They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down^(DL) their pride^(DM)
    despite the cleverness^[b] of their hands.
¹²He will bring down your high fortified walls^(DN)
    and lay them low;^(DO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

A Song of Praise

26 In that day^(DP) this song will be sung^(DQ) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;^(DR)
    God makes salvation
    its walls^(DS) and ramparts.^(DT)
²Open the gates^(DU)
    that the righteous^(DV) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
³You will keep in perfect peace^(DW)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust^(DX) in you.
⁴Trust^(DY) in the Lord forever,^(DZ)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock^(EA) eternal.
⁵He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground^(EB)
    and casts it down to the dust.^(EC)
⁶Feet trample^(ED) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,^(EE)
    the footsteps of the poor.^(EF)

⁷The path of the righteous is level;^(EG)
    you, the Upright One,^(EH) make the way of the righteous smooth.^(EI)
⁸Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^[c]^(EJ)
    we wait^(EK) for you;
your name^(EL) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
⁹My soul yearns for you in the night;^(EM)
    in the morning my spirit longs^(EN) for you.
When your judgments^(EO) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.^(EP)
¹⁰But when grace is shown to the wicked,^(EQ)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^(ER)
    and do not regard^(ES) the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹Lord, your hand is lifted high,^(ET)
    but they do not see^(EU) it.
Let them see your zeal^(EV) for your people and be put to shame;^(EW)
    let the fire^(EX) reserved for your enemies consume them.

¹²Lord, you establish peace^(EY) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done^(EZ) for us.
¹³Lord our God, other lords^(FA) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name^(FB) alone do we honor.^(FC)
¹⁴They are now dead,^(FD) they live no more;
    their spirits^(FE) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;^(FF)
    you wiped out all memory of them.^(FG)
¹⁵You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^(FH)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders^(FI) of the land.

¹⁶Lord, they came to you in their distress;^(FJ)
    when you disciplined^(FK) them,
    they could barely whisper^(FL) a prayer.^[d]
¹⁷As a pregnant woman about to give birth^(FM)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth^(FN) to wind.
We have not brought salvation^(FO) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.^(FP)

¹⁹But your dead^(FQ) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust^(FR)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew^(FS) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.^(FT)

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors^(FU) behind you;
hide^(FV) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath^(FW) has passed by.^(FX)
²¹See, the Lord is coming^(FY) out of his dwelling^(FZ)
    to punish^(GA) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood^(GB) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Footnotes

Isaiah 24:22 Or released
Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

Isaiah 24-26

English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

Footnotes

Cross references

Isaiah 24-26

New International Version

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

Praise to the Lord

A Song of Praise

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Isaiah 24-26 English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

Footnotes

Cross references

Isaiah 24-26 New International Version

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

Praise to the Lord

A Song of Praise

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Isaiah 24-26

English Standard Version

Isaiah 24-26

New International Version