Isaiah 24–27

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth^a

and devastate^b it;

he will ruin its face

and scatter^c its inhabitants—

it will be the same

for priest as for people,^d

for master as for his servant,

for mistress as for her servant,

for seller as for buyer,^e

for borrower as for lender,

for debtor as for creditor.^f

The earth will be completely laid waste^g

and totally plundered.^h

The Lord has spokenⁱ this word.

The earth dries up^j and withers,^k

the world languishes and withers,

the heavens^l languish with the earth.^m

The earth is defiledⁿ by its people;

they have disobeyed^o the laws,

violated the statutes

and broken the everlasting covenant.^p

Therefore a curse^q consumes the earth;

its people must bear their guilt.

Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,^r

and very few are left.

The new wine dries up^s and the vine withers;^t

all the merrymakers groan.^u

The gaiety of the timbrels^v is stilled,

the noise^w of the revelers^x has stopped,

the joyful harp^y is silent.^z

No longer do they drink wine^a with a song;

the beer is bitter^b to its drinkers.

The ruined city^c lies desolate;^d

the entrance to every house is barred.

In the streets they cry out^e for wine;^f

all joy turns to gloom,^g

all gaiety is banished from the earth.

The city is left in ruins,^h

its gateⁱ is battered to pieces.

So will it be on the earth

and among the nations,

as when an olive tree is beaten,^j

or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.^k

They raise their voices, they shout for joy;^l

from the west^m they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.

Therefore in the eastⁿ give glory^o to the Lord;

exalt^p the name^q of the Lord, the God of Israel,

in the islands^r of the sea.

From the ends of the earth^s we hear singing:^t

“Glory^u to the Righteous One.”^v

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!^w

Woe^x to me!

The treacherous^y betray!

With treachery the treacherous betray!^z”

Terror^a and pit and snare^b await you,

people of the earth.^c

Whoever flees^d at the sound of terror

will fall into a pit;^e

whoever climbs out of the pit

will be caught in a snare.^f

The floodgates of the heavens^g are opened,

the foundations of the earth shake.^h

The earth is broken up,ⁱ

the earth is split asunder,^j

the earth is violently shaken.

The earth reels like a drunkard,^k

it sways like a hut^l in the wind;

so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion^m

that it fallsⁿ—never to rise again.^o

In that day^p the Lord will punish^q

the powers^r in the heavens above

and the kings^s on the earth below.

They will be herded together

like prisoners^t bound in a dungeon;^u

they will be shut up in prison

and be punished after many days.^v

The moon will be dismayed,

the sun^w ashamed;

for the Lord Almighty will reign^x

on Mount Zion^y and in Jerusalem,

and before its elders—with great glory.^z

Praise to the Lord

Lord, you are my God;^a

I will exalt you and praise your name,^b

for in perfect faithfulness^c

you have done wonderful things,^d

things planned^e long ago.

You have made the city a heap of rubble,^f

the fortified^g town a ruin,^h

the foreigners’ strongholdⁱ a city no more;

it will never be rebuilt.^j

Therefore strong peoples will honor you;^k

cities of ruthless^l nations will revere you.

You have been a refuge^m for the poor,ⁿ

a refuge for the needy^o in their distress,

a shelter from the storm^p

and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless^q

is like a storm driving against a wall

and like the heat of the desert.

You silence^r the uproar of foreigners;^s

as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,

so the song of the ruthless^t is stilled.

On this mountain^u the Lord Almighty will prepare

a feast^v of rich food for all peoples,

a banquet of aged wine—

the best of meats and the finest of wines.^w

On this mountain he will destroy

the shroud^x that enfolds all peoples,^y

the sheet that covers all nations;

he will swallow up death^z forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears^a

from all faces;

he will remove his people’s disgrace^b

from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken.^c

In that day^d they will say,

“Surely this is our God;^e

we trusted^f in him, and he saved^g us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice^h and be glad in his salvation.”ⁱ

The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;^j

but Moab^k will be trampled in their land

as straw is trampled down in the manure.

They will stretch out their hands in it,

as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.

God will bring down^l their pride^m

despite the cleverness of their hands.

He will bring down your high fortified wallsⁿ

and lay them low;^o

he will bring them down to the ground,

to the very dust.

A Song of Praise

In that day^a this song will be sung^b in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;^c

God makes salvation

its walls^d and ramparts.^e

Open the gates^f

that the righteous^g nation may enter,

the nation that keeps faith.

You will keep in perfect peace^h

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trustⁱ in you.

Trust^j in the Lord forever,^k

for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock^l eternal.

He humbles those who dwell on high,

he lays the lofty city low;

he levels it to the ground^m

and casts it down to the dust.ⁿ

Feet trample^o it down—

the feet of the oppressed,^p

the footsteps of the poor.^q

The path of the righteous is level;^r

you, the Upright One,^s make the way of the righteous smooth.^t

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,^u

we wait^v for you;

your name^w and renown

are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for you in the night;^x

in the morning my spirit longs^y for you.

When your judgments^z come upon the earth,

the people of the world learn righteousness.^a

But when grace is shown to the wicked,^b

they do not learn righteousness;

even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil^c

and do not regard^d the majesty of the Lord.

Lord, your hand is lifted high,^e

but they do not see^f it.

Let them see your zeal^g for your people and be put to shame;^h

let the fireⁱ reserved for your enemies consume them.

Lord, you establish peace^j for us;

all that we have accomplished you have done^k for us.

Lord our God, other lords^l besides you have ruled over us,

but your name^m alone do we honor.ⁿ

They are now dead,^o they live no more;

their spirits^p do not rise.

You punished them and brought them to ruin;^q

you wiped out all memory of them.^r

You have enlarged the nation, Lord;

you have enlarged the nation.^s

You have gained glory for yourself;

you have extended all the borders^t of the land.

Lord, they came to you in their distress;^u

when you disciplined^v them,

they could barely whisper^w a prayer.

As a pregnant woman about to give birth^x

writhes and cries out in her pain,

so were we in your presence, Lord.

We were with child, we writhed in pain,

but we gave birth^y to wind.

We have not brought salvation^z to the earth,

and the people of the world have not been reborn.^a

But your dead^b will live, Lord;

their bodies will rise—

let those who dwell in the dust^c

wake up and shout for joy—

your dew^d is like the dew of the morning;

you will make it fall on the spirits of the dead.^e

Go, my people, enter your rooms

and shut the doors^f behind you;

hide^g yourselves for a little while

until his wrath^h has passed by.ⁱ

See, the Lord is coming^j out of his dwelling^k

to punish^l the people of the earth for their sins.

The earth will disclose the blood^m shed on it;

the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Deliverance of Israel

In that day,^a

the Lord will punish with his sword^b—

his fierce, great and powerful sword—

Leviathan^c the gliding serpent,^d

Leviathan the coiling serpent;

he will slay the monster^e of the sea.

In that day^f—

“Sing^g about a fruitful vineyard:^h

I, the Lord, watch over it;

I waterⁱ it continually.

I guard^j it day and night

so that no one may harm^k it.

I am not angry.

If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!

I would march against them in battle;

I would set them all on fire.^l

Or else let them come to me for refuge;^m

let them make peaceⁿ with me,

yes, let them make peace with me.”

In days to come Jacob will take root,^o

Israel will bud and blossom^p

and fill all the world with fruit.^q

Has ^⌈the Lord^⌈ struck her

as he struck^r down those who struck her?

Has she been killed

as those were killed who killed her?

By warfare and exile^s you contend with her—

with his fierce blast he drives her out,

as on a day the east wind^t blows.

By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned^u for,

and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:^v

When he makes all the altar stones^w

to be like limestone crushed to pieces,

no Asherah poles^x or incense altars^y

will be left standing.

The fortified city stands desolate,^z

an abandoned settlement, forsaken^a like the wilderness;

there the calves graze,^b

there they lie down;^c

they strip its branches bare.

When its twigs are dry, they are broken off^d

and women come and make fires^e with them.

For this is a people without understanding;^f

so their Maker has no compassion on them,

and their Creator^g shows them no favor.^h

In that day the Lord will threshⁱ from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,^j and you, Israel, will be gathered^k up one by one. And in that day^l a great trumpet^m will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiledⁿ in Egypt^o will come and worship^p the Lord on the holy mountain^q in Jerusalem.