Isaiah 24
Expanded Bible
The Lord Will Punish the World
24 ·Look [T Behold]! The Lord will destroy the earth and ·leave it empty [lay it waste];
he will ·ruin [mar; distort] the surface of the land and scatter its ·people [inhabitants].
2 ·At that time the same thing will happen to everyone [L It will be]:
·to common people and priests [L like people, like priest],
·to slaves and masters [L like servant/slave, like master/lord],
·to women slaves and their women masters [L like maidservant, like mistress/queen],
·to sellers and buyers [L like seller, like buyer],
·to those who lend and those who borrow [L like lender, like borrower],
·to bankers and those who owe the bank [L like creditor, like debtor].
3 The earth will be ·completely empty [devastated; laid waste].
The wealth ·will all be taken [plundered],
because the Lord has ·commanded it [spoken this word].
4 The earth will ·dry up [or mourn] and ·die [wither];
the world will ·grow weak [languish] and ·die [wither];
the ·great leaders [or heavens; heights; L highest ones] ·in this land [or of the earth] will ·become weak [languish].
5 The people of the earth have ·ruined [defiled] it,
because they ·do not follow [have violated/transgressed] ·God’s teachings [the laws/instruction; L Torah]
or obey ·God’s laws [statutes; regulations]
or keep ·their agreement with God that was to last forever [the eternal covenant/treaty].
6 So a curse [Deut. 28] will ·destroy [consume; devour] the earth.
The people of the world ·are guilty [must pay for their guilt],
so ·they [L the earth’s inhabitants] will be burned up;
only a few will be left.
7 The new wine ·will be bad [dries up; or mourns], and the grapevines will ·die [wither; or languish].
·People who were happy [Revelers; Merrymakers] will ·be sad [groan; sigh].
8 The ·happy music [joy; mirth] of the tambourines will end.
The happy sounds of ·wild parties [revelry] will stop.
The joyful music from the harps will ·end [cease].
9 People will no longer sing while they drink their wine.
The ·beer [T strong drink; C alcoholic beverage made from grain] will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10 The ruined city ·will be empty [is desolate/broken],
·and people will hide behind closed doors [L every house is shuttered to prevent entering].
11 People in the streets will ·ask [cry out; howl] for wine,
but joy will have turned to ·sadness [gloom; darkness];
all the ·happiness [gladness; rejoicing] ·will have left [is banished/exiled].
12 The city will be left in ruins,
and its gates will be smashed to pieces.
13 This is what will happen all over the earth
and to all the nations.
The earth will be like an olive tree ·after the harvest [L when it is beaten; 17:6]
or like the ·few grapes left on a vine [L gleanings] after harvest.
14 The people raise their voices and shout for joy.
From the ·west [L sea] they ·praise the greatness [shout/cry out for the majesty] of the Lord.
15 [L Therefore] People in the ·east [or morning light; dawn], ·praise [extol; give glory to] the Lord.
People in the ·islands [or coastlands] of the sea,
·praise [extol; give glory to] the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs from ·every part [the ends/edge] of the earth
·praising God, [or “Glory to…”] the Righteous One.
But I said, “I am ·dying [wasting away]! I am ·dying [wasting away]!
·How terrible it will be for [Woe to] me!
·Traitors turn against people [L Betrayers betray; 21:2];
·with their dishonesty, they turn against people [L Betrayers betray with betrayal].”
17 There are terrors, ·holes [pits], and ·traps [snares]
for the ·people [inhabitants] of the earth.
18 Anyone who tries to ·escape [flee] from the sound of terror
will fall into a ·hole [pit].
Anyone who climbs out of the ·hole [pit]
will be caught in a ·trap [snare].
The ·clouds in the sky will pour out rain [L the floodgates/windows of the heights are opened],
and the foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth will be ·broken up [shattered];
the earth will split open;
the earth will shake violently.
20 The earth will ·stumble [stagger; reel] around like someone who is drunk;
it will shake like a ·hut in a storm [L hut].
Its ·sin [transgression; rebellion] is ·like a heavy weight on its back [L heavy upon it];
it will fall and never rise again.
21 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will punish
the ·powers [armies; hosts] in the ·sky [or heavens; L heights] above
and the ·rulers [kings] on earth below.
22 They will be gathered together
like prisoners ·thrown into a dungeon [in a pit/cistern];
they will be shut up in prison.
After ·much time [many days] they will be punished.
23 The moon will be ·embarrassed [confounded; dismayed; disgraced; or covered up],
and the sun will be ·ashamed [or darkened; C these great lights will pale in comparison to the Lord’s glory],
because the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
·Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness [L …and gloriously before its elders].
Isaiah 24
Amplified Bible
Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord [a]lays waste to the earth, devastates it, twists and distorts its face and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor [as God’s impartial judgment of sin comes on all]. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and utterly pillaged, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and crumbles away, the world dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5 The earth also is polluted [b]by its inhabitants, because they have transgressed laws, violated statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.(A) 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned [under the curse of God’s wrath], and few people are left.(B)
7
The new wine mourns,
The vine decays;
All the merry-hearted sigh and groan.
8
The mirth of the timbrels (tambourines) ceases,
The noise of those who rejoice ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9
They do not drink wine with a song;
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 may enter.
11
There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
All jubilation is darkened,
The joy of the earth is banished.
12
Horrible desolation is left in the city,
And the gate is battered into ruins.
13
For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over [and only a little of the fruit remains].
14
They [who have escaped and remain] raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They rejoice from the [Mediterranean] Sea in the majesty of the Lord.
15
Therefore honor and glorify the Lord in the east [in the region of light],
The name of the Lord, the God of Israel [honor His name],
In the coastlands and islands of the [Mediterranean] Sea.
16
From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory and honor to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe to me!
The treacherous deal treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17
Terror and pit [of destruction] and snare
Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18
Then it will be that he who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19
The earth is broken completely apart,
The earth is split apart,
The earth is shaken violently.
20
The earth reels back and forth like a drunkard
And sways like a shack;
Its transgression lies heavily upon it,
And it will fall and not rise again.
21
So it will happen in that day
That the Lord will visit and punish the host (fallen angels) of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on the earth.(C)
22
They will be gathered together
As prisoners [are gathered] in a dungeon;
They will be shut up in prison,
And after many days they will be visited and punished.(D)
23
Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed,
For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 24:1 The gradual destruction of the earth, as revealed by God to Isaiah, is prophesied in this passage. He sees both the current and the future tragedies which will befall earth.
- Isaiah 24:5 Lit under.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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