Isaiah 24:21-23
New English Translation
The Lord Will Become King
21 At that time[a] the Lord will punish[b]
the heavenly forces in the heavens[c]
and the earthly kings on the earth.
22 They will be imprisoned in a pit,[d]
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time,[e] they will be punished.[f]
23 The full moon will be covered up,[g]
the bright sun[h] will be darkened;[i]
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule[j]
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem
in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.[k]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 24:21 tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
- Isaiah 24:21 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
- Isaiah 24:21 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets; see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
- Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (ʾasefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
- Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
- Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”
- Isaiah 24:23 tn Heb “will be ashamed.”
- Isaiah 24:23 tn Or “glow of the sun.”
- Isaiah 24:23 tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).
- Isaiah 24:23 tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”
- Isaiah 24:23 tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”
Isaiah 24:21-23
King James Version
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
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