Isaiah 24
New Living Translation
Destruction of the Earth
24 Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth
and make it a vast wasteland.
He devastates the surface of the earth
and scatters the people.
2 Priests and laypeople,
servants and masters,
maids and mistresses,
buyers and sellers,
lenders and borrowers,
bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted.
The Lord has spoken!
4 The earth mourns and dries up,
and the land wastes away and withers.
Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
and broken his everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
and only a few are left alive.
7 The grapevines waste away,
and there is no new wine.
All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
9 Gone are the joys of wine and song;
alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
10 The city writhes in chaos;
every home is locked to keep out intruders.
11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
Joy has turned to gloom.
Gladness has been banished from the land.
12 The city is left in ruins,
its gates battered down.
13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
14 But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief.
Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
and treachery is everywhere.
17 Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
you people of the earth.
18 Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.
Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth has broken up.
It has utterly collapsed;
it is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunk.
It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.
21 In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
22 They will be rounded up and put in prison.
They will be shut up in prison
and will finally be punished.
23 Then the glory of the moon will wane,
and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
in the sight of all the leaders of his people.
Isaiah 24
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Will Empty the Earth
24 Behold, Yahweh (A)empties the earth to destruction, eviscerates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 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. 3 The earth will be completely emptied to destruction and completely plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. 4 The (C)earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the (D)exalted of the people of the earth languish. 5 The earth is also (E)polluted [a]by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, (F)broke the everlasting covenant. 6 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.
7 The (I)new wine mourns;
The vine languishes;
All the glad of heart sigh.
8 The (J)joy of tambourines ceases;
The rumbling of those exulting stops;
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 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
- Isaiah 24:5 Lit under
- Isaiah 24:11 Lit is darkened
- Isaiah 24:13 Lit striking
- Isaiah 24:14 Lit sea
- Isaiah 24:15 Lit region of light
- Isaiah 24:15 Or islands
- Isaiah 24:16 Lit Wasting to me!
- Isaiah 24:16 Lit Wasting to me!
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit goes up from the midst of
- Isaiah 24:18 Heaven; lit from the height
- Isaiah 24:20 Or hut
- Isaiah 24:22 Or dungeon
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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