Isaiah 24
Christian Standard Bible
The Earth Judged
24 Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare
and making it desolate.
He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:
2 people and priest alike,
servant and master,
female servant and mistress,
buyer and seller,
lender and borrower,
creditor and debtor.
3 The earth will be stripped completely bare
and will be totally plundered,
for the Lord has spoken this message.(A)
4 The earth mourns and withers;
the world wastes away and withers;
the exalted people of the earth waste away.
5 The earth is polluted by its inhabitants,(B)
for they have transgressed teachings,
overstepped decrees,
and broken the permanent covenant.(C)
6 Therefore a curse has consumed the earth,(D)
and its inhabitants have become guilty;
the earth’s inhabitants have been burned,
and only a few survive.
7 The new wine mourns;(E)
the vine withers.
All the carousers now groan.
8 The joyful tambourines(F) have ceased.
The noise of the jubilant has stopped.
The joyful lyre has ceased.
9 They no longer sing and drink wine;
beer is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is shattered;(G)
every house is closed to entry.(H)
11 In the streets they cry[a] for wine.
All joy grows dark;
earth’s rejoicing goes into exile.
12 Only desolation remains in the city;
its gate has collapsed in ruins.
13 For this is how it will be on earth
among the nations:
like a harvested olive tree,
like a gleaning after a grape harvest.(I)
14 They raise their voices, they sing out;
they proclaim in the west
the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore, in the east honor the Lord!
In the coasts and islands of the west
honor the name of the Lord,
the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs:
The Splendor of the Righteous One.(J)
But I said, “I waste away! I waste away![b]
Woe is me.”
The treacherous act treacherously;
the treacherous deal very treacherously.(K)
17 Panic, pit, and trap await you(L)
who dwell on the earth.(M)
18 Whoever flees at the sound of panic
will fall into a pit,
and whoever escapes from the pit
will be caught in a trap.
For the floodgates on high are opened,(N)
and the foundations of the earth are shaken.(O)
19 The earth is completely devastated;
the earth is split open;
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard(P)
and sways like a hut.
Earth’s rebellion weighs it down,
and it falls, never to rise again.
21 On that day(Q) the Lord will punish
the army of the heights in the heights
and the kings of the ground on the ground.
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit.(R)
They will be confined to a dungeon;(S)
after many days they will be punished.
23 The moon will be put to shame
and the sun disgraced,
because the Lord of Armies will reign as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
and he will display his glory
in the presence of his elders.(T)
Isaiah 24
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.
5 The earth lies (H)defiled
under its inhabitants;
for (I)they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 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.
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.
9 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
- 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
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
