Isaiah 24

¹Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

²And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

³The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

⁴The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

⁵The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

⁶Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

⁷The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

⁸The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

⁹They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

¹⁰The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

¹¹There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

¹²In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

¹³When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

¹⁴They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

¹⁵Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

¹⁶From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

¹⁷Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

¹⁸And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

¹⁹The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

²⁰The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

²¹And 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.

²²And 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.

²³Then 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.

Isaiah 24

¹Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—

²people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

³The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word.

⁴The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

⁵The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.

⁶Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.

⁷The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

⁸The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.

⁹They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.

¹⁰The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry.

¹¹In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.

¹²The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble.

¹³So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

¹⁴They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.

¹⁵Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

¹⁶From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.

¹⁷Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.

¹⁸Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

¹⁹The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.

²⁰The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

²¹In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.

²²They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days.

²³The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.