Isaiah 24

Judgment on the Whole Earth

Behold, a the  Lord will empty the earth
Or land; also throughout this chapter
and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
c And 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;
d as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
e as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
f The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
g for the  Lord has spoken this word.
h The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
The earth lies i defiled
under its inhabitants;
for j they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore k a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants l suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
m The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
n The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No more do they drink wine o with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10  p The wasted city is broken down;
q every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11  r There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
s all joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
t as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14  They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the  Lord they shout from the west.
Hebrew  from the sea

15  v Therefore in the east
Hebrew  in the realm of light
give glory to the  Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the  Lord, the God of Israel.
16  x From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to y the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For z the traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17  aa Terror and the pit and the snare
The Hebrew words for  terror,  pit, and  snare sound alike

are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18  ac He 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 ad the windows of heaven are opened,
and ae the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth af staggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
ag its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21  On that day the  Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and ah the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22  ai They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days aj they will be punished.
23  ak Then the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for al the  Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.
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