Add parallel Print Page Options

The Judgment on the Earth

24 Look! Yahweh is about to lay the earth waste
    and is about to devastate it,
and he will twist her surface,
    and he will scatter her inhabitants.
And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the female slave, so with her mistress;
    as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    as with the creditor, so with the one to whom he lends.
The earth shall be utterly laid waste,
    and it shall be utterly plundered,

for Yahweh has spoken this word.

The earth dries up, it withers;
    the world languishes, it withers.
The elevated of the people of the earth languish,
    and the earth is defiled beneath its inhabitants.
For they have transgressed laws;
    they have passed by statutes;[a]
    they have broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
    and the inhabitants in it suffer for their guilt.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth burn,
    and few men are left.[b]
The new wine dries up;
    the vine languishes.
All the merry of heart sigh;
    the joy of the tambourine has stopped.
The noise of the jubilant has ceased;
    the joy of the lyre has stopped.
They do not drink wine with song;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of emptiness is broken;
    every house is shut so that no one can enter;[c]
11     there is an outcry over the wine in the streets.
All joy turns into darkness;[d]
    the joy of the earth disappears.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
    the gate is crushed into a state of ruin.
13 For it shall be like this in the midst of the earth,
    among the nations,
like the beating of an olive tree,
    like gleanings when a grape harvest is at an end.
14 They lift up their voices;[e] they sing for joy;
    they shout out from the west over the majesty of Yahweh.
15 Therefore glorify Yahweh in the east,
    the name of Yahweh the God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 We hear songs from the edge[f] of the earth:
    “Glory to the righteous one!”
But I say, “Ruin to me!
    Ruin to me! Woe to me!
The treacherous ones deal treacherously,
    and the treacherous ones deal treacherously with treachery!”

17 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, inhabitants[g] of the earth!

18 And this shall happen:

The one who flees from the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit,
    and the one who goes up from inside the pit[h] shall be caught in the snare,
for the windows from heaven are opened,
    and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken;
    the earth is torn asunder;
    the earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth staggers to and fro like the drunkard,
    and it sways like a hut,
and its transgression is heavy upon it,
    and it falls and does not rise again.

21 And this shall happen on that day:

Yahweh will punish the host of heaven in heaven,
    and the kings of the earth on the earth.
22 And they will be gathered in a gathering, like a prisoner in[i] a pit.
    And they will be shut in[j] a prison and be punished after[k] many days.
23 And the full moon will be ashamed
    and the sun will be ashamed,
for Yahweh of hosts will rule on Mount Zion[l] and in Jerusalem,
    and before his elders in glory.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:5 Hebrew “statute”
  2. Isaiah 24:6 Literally “he is left a man of smallness”
  3. Isaiah 24:10 Literally “from entering”
  4. Isaiah 24:11 Literally “evening”
  5. Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew “voice”
  6. Isaiah 24:16 Literally “wing”
  7. Isaiah 24:17 Hebrew “inhabitant”
  8. Isaiah 24:18 Literally “the middle of the pit”
  9. Isaiah 24:22 Literally “on”
  10. Isaiah 24:22 Literally “on”
  11. Isaiah 24:22 Literally “from”
  12. Isaiah 24:23 Literally “the mountain of Zion”

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.
(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.
(E)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    (F)for the Lord has spoken this word.

(G)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
The earth lies (H)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for (I)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore (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.
(L)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
(M)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No 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.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For 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.

14 They 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.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
20 The 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.

21 On 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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter
  2. Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew from the sea
  3. Isaiah 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires
  4. Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike