Isaiah 24

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24Behold, ^cthe Lord will empty the earth¹ and make it desolate,

and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

^2dAnd 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;

^eas with the buyer, so with the seller;

as with the lender, so with the borrower;

^fas with the creditor, so with the debtor.

^3gThe earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;

^hfor the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴ⁱThe earth mourns and withers;

the world languishes and withers;

the highest people of the earth languish.

⁵The earth lies ^jdefiled

under its inhabitants;

for ^kthey have transgressed the laws,

violated the statutes,

broken the everlasting covenant.

⁶Therefore ^la curse devours the earth,

and its inhabitants ^msuffer for their guilt;

therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,

and few men are left.

⁷ⁿThe wine mourns,

the vine languishes,

all the merry-hearted sigh.

^8oThe mirth of the tambourines is stilled,

the noise of the jubilant has ceased,

the mirth of the lyre is stilled.

⁹No more do they drink wine ^pwith singing;

strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

^10qThe wasted city is broken down;

^revery house is shut up so that none can enter.

^11sThere is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;

^tall joy has grown dark;

the gladness of the earth is banished.

¹²Desolation is left in the city;

the gates are battered into ruins.

¹³For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth

among the nations,

^uas when an olive tree is beaten,

as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;

over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.²

^15vTherefore in the east³ give glory to the Lord;

in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

^16wFrom the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,

of glory to ^xthe Righteous One.

But I say, “I waste away,

I waste away. Woe is me!

For ^ythe traitors have betrayed,

with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

^17zTerror and the pit and the snare⁴

are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!

^18zHe 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 ^athe windows of heaven are opened,

and ^bthe foundations of the earth tremble.

¹⁹The earth is utterly broken,

the earth is split apart,

the earth is violently shaken.

²⁰The earth ^cstaggers like a drunken man;

it sways like a hut;

^dits transgression lies heavy upon it,

and it falls, and will not rise again.

²¹On that day the Lord will punish

the host of heaven, in heaven,

and ^ethe kings of the earth, on the earth.

^22fThey will be gathered together

as prisoners in a pit;

they will be shut up in a prison,

and after many days ^gthey will be punished.

^23hThen the moon will be confounded

and the sun ashamed,

for ⁱthe Lord of hosts reigns

on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

and his glory will be before his elders.