Isaiah 24

CHAPTER 24

Yahweh Will Empty the Earth

¹Behold, Yahweh ^aempties the earth to destruction, eviscerates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants.

²And the people will be like the priest, the male slave like his master, the female slave like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the ^acreditor like the debtor.

³The earth will be completely emptied to destruction and completely plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word.

⁴The ^aearth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the ^bexalted of the people of the earth languish.

⁵The earth is also ^apolluted ¹by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, ^bbroke the everlasting covenant.

⁶Therefore, a ^acurse devours the earth, and those who inhabit it are held guilty. Therefore, the ^binhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men remain.

⁷The ^anew wine mourns;

The vine languishes;

All the glad of heart sigh.

⁸The ^ajoy of tambourines ceases;

The rumbling of those exulting stops;

The joy of the harp ceases.

⁹They do not drink wine with song;

^aStrong drink is ^bbitter to those who drink it.

¹⁰The ^acity of chaos is broken down;

^bEvery house is shut up so that none may enter.

¹¹There is an ^aoutcry in the streets concerning the wine;

^bAll gladness ¹turns to gloom.

The joy of the earth is taken away into exile.

¹²Desolation remains in the city,

And the ^agate is struck down to ruins.

¹³For ^athus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,

As the ¹shaking of an olive tree,

As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.

^14aThey lift up their voices, they shout for joy;

They cry out from the ¹west concerning the majesty of Yahweh.

¹⁵Therefore ^aglorify Yahweh in the ¹east,

The ^bname of Yahweh, the God of Israel,

In the ^2ccoastlands of the sea.

¹⁶From the ^aends of the earth we hear songs, “^bGlory to the Righteous One,”

But I say, “^1cI waste away! ²I waste away! Woe is me!

The ^dtreacherous deal treacherously,

And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”

^17aPanic and pit and pitfall

Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.

¹⁸Then it will be that he who flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit,

And he who ¹climbs out of the pit will be caught in the pitfall;

For the ^awindows ²above are opened, and the ^bfoundations of the earth quake.

^19aThe earth is broken asunder;

The earth is ^bsplit through;

The earth is shaken violently.

²⁰The earth ^areels to and fro like a drunkard

And it totters like a ¹shack,

For its ^btransgression is heavy upon it,

And it will fall, ^cnever to rise again.

²¹So it will be in that day,

That Yahweh will ^apunish the host of heights on high,

And the ^bkings of the earth on earth.

²²They will be gathered together

Like ^aprisoners in the ¹pit,

And will be confined in prison;

And after many days they will ^bbe punished.

²³Then the ^amoon will be humiliated and the sun ashamed,

For ^bYahweh of hosts will reign on ^cMount Zion and in Jerusalem,

And His glory will be before His elders.