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Yahweh Will Empty the Earth

24 Behold, Yahweh (A)empties the earth to destruction, eviscerates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. And the people will be like the priest, the male slave like his master, the female slave like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the (B)creditor like the debtor. The earth will be completely emptied to destruction and completely plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. The (C)earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the (D)exalted of the people of the earth languish. The earth is also (E)polluted [a]by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, (F)broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a (G)curse devours the earth, and those who inhabit it are held guilty. Therefore, the (H)inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men remain.

The (I)new wine mourns;
The vine languishes;
All the glad of heart sigh.
The (J)joy of tambourines ceases;
The rumbling of those exulting stops;
The joy of the harp ceases.
They do not drink wine with song;
(K)Strong drink is (L)bitter to those who drink it.
10 The (M)city of chaos is broken down;
(N)Every house is shut up so that none may enter.
11 There is an (O)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
(P)All gladness [b]turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is taken away into exile.
12 Desolation remains in the city,
And the (Q)gate is struck down to ruins.
13 For (R)thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the [c]shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 (S)They lift up their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the [d]west concerning the majesty of Yahweh.
15 Therefore (T)glorify Yahweh in the [e]east,
The (U)name of Yahweh, the God of Israel,
In the [f](V)coastlands of the sea.
16 From the (W)ends of the earth we hear songs, “(X)Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “[g](Y)I waste away! [h]I waste away! Woe is me!
The (Z)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 (AA)Panic and pit and pitfall
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that he who flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit,
And he who [i]climbs out of the pit will be caught in the pitfall;
For the (AB)windows [j]above are opened, and the (AC)foundations of the earth quake.
19 (AD)The earth is broken asunder;
The earth is (AE)split through;
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth (AF)reels to and fro like a drunkard
And it totters like a [k]shack,
For its (AG)transgression is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, (AH)never to rise again.
21 So it will be in that day,
That Yahweh will (AI)punish the host of heights on high,
And the (AJ)kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like (AK)prisoners in the [l]pit,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will (AL)be punished.
23 Then the (AM)moon will be humiliated and the sun ashamed,
For (AN)Yahweh of hosts will reign on (AO)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:5 Lit under
  2. Isaiah 24:11 Lit is darkened
  3. Isaiah 24:13 Lit striking
  4. Isaiah 24:14 Lit sea
  5. Isaiah 24:15 Lit region of light
  6. Isaiah 24:15 Or islands
  7. Isaiah 24:16 Lit Wasting to me!
  8. Isaiah 24:16 Lit Wasting to me!
  9. Isaiah 24:18 Lit goes up from the midst of
  10. Isaiah 24:18 Heaven; lit from the height
  11. Isaiah 24:20 Or hut
  12. Isaiah 24:22 Or dungeon

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

24 Watch, the Lord is going to strip the earth bare and make it desolate.
He will wring it out and scatter its inhabitants.
It will be the same for people and priest,
    for servant and master,
    for servant girl and lady,
    for buyer and seller,
    for lender and borrower,
    for creditor and debtor.
The earth will be stripped bare, totally plundered,
    for the Lord has spoken this word.
The earth mourns and withers.
The world fades and withers away.
The proud people of the earth fade away.
The earth is polluted by its inhabitants,
because they have bypassed the laws.
They have changed the statutes
and set aside the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and those who live there will be found guilty.
That is why the inhabitants of the earth will be burned up,
and so few will remain.
The new wine mourns.
The vine dries up.
Those who were feeling merry now sigh.
The happy sound of drums has ceased.
The noise of partying has ended.
The joyful lyre is silent.
They will drink no wine with their songs anymore.
Beer[a] is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city is in chaos and ruins.
Every house is closed up,
and no one can get in.
11 They cry for wine in the streets,
but all festive joy is gone.
Joyful celebration is banished from the land.
12 The city is left desolate,
and the gate is smashed into pieces.
13 This is the way it will be among the peoples on earth:
It will be like an olive tree after it has been picked over,
like the gleanings left after the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices and sing for joy.
From the west[b] they shout for the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore, in the east[c] glorify the Lord.
In the coastlands of the sea, glorify the name of the Lord,
    the God of Israel!
16 We hear songs from the ends of the earth:
Glory to the Righteous One!

But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me!”
The treacherous deal treacherously.
Yes, the treacherous deal very treacherously.

17 Panic, pit, and peril[d] await all who live on the earth.
18 Whoever flees from the noise of terror will fall into the pit.
Whoever crawls out of the pit will be caught in the trap.
The windows[e] in the sky have opened,
and the foundations of the earth quake.
19 The earth is broken to pieces.
The earth is tearing itself apart.
The earth is shaking violently.
20 The earth staggers like a drunken man.
It shakes like a shack in a windstorm.
The burden of its rebellion is so heavy
    that it will fall, unable to rise again.

21 On that day the Lord will deal with the army on high
and with the kings of the earth below.
22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit.
They will be locked up in prison,
and after many days they will be dealt with.
23 Then the bright moon will be ashamed,
and the hot sun will be embarrassed,
for the Lord of Armies will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
and his glory will shine in the presence of his elders.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:9 Beer refers to any fermented drink not made from grapes. Distilled alcohol was not used in biblical times.
  2. Isaiah 24:14 Literally sea
  3. Isaiah 24:15 Literally among the lights
  4. Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words pahad, pahat, and pah sound similar and are used for poetic effect. A bit of literalness is sacrificed to retain the effect; pah is more literally trap.
  5. Isaiah 24:18 Or floodgates