Isaiah 24:1–12

*Behold, athe Lord bcmaketh the earth empty, and cmaketh it waste,

And †turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

2  And it shall be, eas with the people, so with the ||priest;

As with the servant, so with his master;

As with the maid, so with her mistress;

fAs with the buyer, so with the seller;

As with the lender, so with the borrower;

gAs with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

3  hThe land shall be butterly emptied, and utterly spoiled:

iFor the Lord hath spoken this word.

4  The earth mourneth and fadeth away,

The world jlanguisheth and fadeth away,

†The haughty people of the earth jdo languish.

5  The kearth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;

Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,

lBroken the everlasting covenant.

6  Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,

And they that dwell therein mare desolate:

Therefore the inhabitants of the earth nare burned,

And ofew men left.

7  pThe new wine mourneth, the vine jlanguisheth,

All the merryhearted do sigh.

8  qThe mirth of rtabrets sceaseth, tthe noise of them that rejoice endeth,

The joy of rthe harp sceaseth.

9  They shall not drink wine with a song;

Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

10  The city of uconfusion is broken down:

Every house is shut up, vthat no man may come in.

11  There is wa crying xfor wine in the streets;

All joy is darkened,

The mirth of hthe land is gone.

12  In the city is left desolation,

And the gate is smitten with destruction.