Isaiah 24
New American Standard Bible
Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord (A)lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant 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 laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The (C)earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the (D)exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. 5 The earth is also (E)defiled [a]by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and (F)broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a (G)curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the (H)inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.
7 The (I)new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the joyful-hearted sigh.
8 The (J)joy of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They do not drink wine with song;
(K)Intoxicating 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 no one may enter.
11 There is an (O)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
(P)All joy [b]turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city
And the (Q)gate is battered to ruins.
13 For (R)so 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 raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the [d]west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore (T)glorify the Lord in the [e]east,
The (U)name of the Lord, 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]I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
The (Y)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 (Z)Terror and pit and snare
[h]Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And the one who [i]climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the (AA)windows [j]above are opened, and the (AB)foundations of the earth shake.
19 (AC)The earth is broken apart,
The earth is (AD)split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth (AE)trembles like a heavy drinker
And sways like a hut,
For its (AF)wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, (AG)never to rise again.
21 So it will happen on that day,
That the Lord will (AH)punish the rebellious [k](AI)angels of [l]heaven on high,
And the (AJ)kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like (AK)prisoners in the [m]dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will (AL)be punished.
23 Then the (AM)moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
For the (AN)Lord of armies 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 Meaning uncertain
- Isaiah 24:17 Lit Are upon you
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit goes up from the midst of
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit from the height; i.e., heaven
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit host
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit the height in the height
- Isaiah 24:22 Lit pit
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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