Isaiah 24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Impending Judgment on the Earth
24 Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.(A)
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the male 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 debtor.(B)
3 The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled,
for the Lord has spoken this word.(C)
4 The earth dries up and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
5 The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants,
for they have transgressed laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.(D)
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
and few people are left.(E)
7 The wine dries up;
the vine languishes;
all the merry-hearted sigh.(F)
8 The mirth of the timbrels is stilled;
the noise of the jubilant has ceased;
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.(G)
9 No longer do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos is broken down;
every house is shut up so that no one can enter.(H)
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.(I)
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.(J)
14 They lift up their voices; they sing for joy;
they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.(K)
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.(L)
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I pine away;
I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously;
the treacherous deal very treacherously.”(M)
17 Terror, the pit, and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth!(N)
18 Whoever flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and whoever climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.(O)
19 The earth is utterly broken;
the earth is torn apart;
the earth is violently shaken.(P)
20 The earth staggers like a drunkard;
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls and will not rise again.(Q)
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven in heaven
and on earth the kings of the earth.(R)
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.(S)
23 Then the moon will be abashed
and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before his elders he will be glorified.(T)
Isaiah 24
International Standard Version
The Earth is Judged
24 “Watch out! The Lord[a] is about to depopulate the land
and devastate it;
he will turn it upside down[b]
and scatter its inhabitants.
2 It will be the same for the lay people as for priests,
the same for servants as for their masters,
for female servants as for their mistresses,
for buyers as for sellers,
for lenders as for borrowers,
and for creditors as for debtors.
3 The earth will be utterly depopulated
and completely laid waste —
for the Lord has spoken this message.[c]
4 “The earth dries up and withers;
the world languishes and fades away;
heaven fades away,
along with the earth.[d]
5 The earth lies defiled
beneath its inhabitants;
because they have transgressed the laws,[e]
violated the statutes,
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore the curse keeps on consuming,[f]
and its inhabitants are declared guilty.
Furthermore, the inhabitants of earth are ablaze,
and few people are left.
7 The new wine evaporates;
the vine and the oil[g] dry up;
all the merrymakers groan.
8 “The celebrations of the tambourine have ended,
the noise of the jubilant has stopped,
and the mirth that the harp produces has ended.
9 No longer do they drink wine
accompanied by singing;
even beer[h] tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 The chaotic city lies broken down;
every house is closed up
so that no one can enter them.[i]
11 There is an outcry in the streets over wine;
all cheer turns to gloom;
the fun times of the earth are banished.
12 Desolation remains in the city
whose gates lie battered into ruins.
13 So it will be on the earth
and among the nations—
as when an olive tree is beaten,
or as gleanings when the grape harvest has ended.”
Glorifying God
14 “They raise their voices;
they shout for joy;[j]
from the west[k] they shout aloud[l]
over the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore, you in the east,[m]
give glory to the Lord!
You in the coastlands of the sea,
give glory to the name of the Lord God of Israel!
16 From the ends of the earth
we hear songs of praise:
‘Glory to the Righteous One!’
“But I say, ‘I am pining away,
I’m pining away.
How terrible things are for me!
For treacherous people betray—
treacherous people are betraying with treachery!’”
The Universal Impact of Judgment
17 “Terror and pit and snare are coming in your direction,
you inhabitants of the earth!
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit,
and whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.
For the windows of judgment[n] from above are opened,
and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is utterly shattered,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth[o] reels to and fro like a drunkard;
it sways like a hut;[p]
its transgression lies so heavy upon it,
that it falls, never to rise again.
21 “And it will come about at that time,[q]
the Lord will punish
the armies of the exalted ones in the heavens,[r]
and the rulers[s] of the earth on earth.
22 They[t] will be herded together[u]
into the Pit;[v]
they will be shut up in prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be embarrassed
and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem;
and in the presence of its elders
there will be glory.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 24:1 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads Lord
- Isaiah 24:1 Or distort its surface
- Isaiah 24:3 Lit. word
- Isaiah 24:4 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; MT reads the heavens fade away; cf. LXX reads the exalted ones of the earth mourn
- Isaiah 24:5 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac LXX read the Law
- Isaiah 24:6 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read consuming the earth
- Isaiah 24:7 So 4QIsac; 1QIsaa MT LXX lack and the oil
- Isaiah 24:9 Or and strong drink
- Isaiah 24:10 1QIsaa MT lack them
- Isaiah 24:14 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads and they shout
- Isaiah 24:14 Lit. sea; so 1QIsaa MT; cf. LXX; 4QIsac reads day
- Isaiah 24:14 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads And they cry out
- Isaiah 24:15 So 1QIsaa MT; 4Q1sac reads in the east, in Aram; LXX lacks in the east
- Isaiah 24:18 1QIsaa MT lack of judgment
- Isaiah 24:20 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Earth
- Isaiah 24:20 So MT; 1QIsaa lacks like a hut
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit. about on that day
- Isaiah 24:21 Or ones on high
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit. kings
- Isaiah 24:22 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read And they
- Isaiah 24:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsac MT read together like prisoners
- Isaiah 24:22 I.e., the place of punishment in the afterlife; or into a dungeon;
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