Isaiah

Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

1Look! The LORD is emptying the earth and leaving it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter the people who live on it.

2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

2It will happen to everyone the same way. To ordinary people and to priests. To servants and to their masters. To maids and to their mistresses. To buyers and to sellers. To lenders and to borrowers. To those who collect interest and to those who pay it.

3The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

3The land will be completely emptied and completely stripped bare. The LORD himself has said it.

4The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

4The earth mourns and dries up. The world grows weak and fades. The proud people of the earth waste away.

5The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

5The people living on the earth have made it filthy. They have broken the laws, ignored the rules, and broken the agreement that was meant to last forever.

6Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

6So a curse has eaten up the earth, and the people who live there must bear the blame. They have been burned, and only a few are left.

7The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

7The new wine dries up. The grapevine withers. Everyone who used to be cheerful now groans.

8The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

8The happy sound of the tambourines has stopped. The noise of the partygoers is over. The joyful music of the harp is silent.

Note"Tabrets" are small hand drums, like tambourines.

9They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

9They no longer sing while they drink wine. Strong drink now tastes bitter to those who drink it.

10The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

10The city that is full of chaos lies broken. Every house is shut tight so no one can get in.

11There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

11In the streets people cry out for wine. All joy has turned dark. Happiness has left the land.

12In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

12Nothing is left in the city but ruins. Its gate has been smashed to pieces.

13When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

13This is how it will be across the land and among the nations. It will be like an olive tree after it is shaken, or like the few grapes left after the harvest.

14They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

14But some will lift their voices and shout for joy. They will sing about how great the LORD is, calling out from the sea.

15Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

15So give honor to the LORD in the east. Praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, on the islands of the sea.

NoteThe KJV says "in the fires" here. The Hebrew word is uncertain, but it most likely means the east, the direction of the sunrise, matched with "the isles of the sea" in the west.

16From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

16From the farthest parts of the earth we hear singing: "Glory to the one who is right and good." But I said, "I am wasting away! I am wasting away! How terrible for me!" Liars keep betraying. Liars betray again and again.

17Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

17Terror, and a deep pit, and a trap are waiting for you, you who live on the earth.

18And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

18Whoever runs from the terrifying noise will fall into the pit. Whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The windows of the sky are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaking.

19The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

19The earth is broken to pieces. The earth is split wide open. The earth is shaken hard.

20The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

20The earth staggers like a drunk man and sways like a flimsy hut. Its wrongdoing weighs it down. It falls, and it does not get up again.

NoteA "cottage" in 1611 English was not a cozy house. It meant a rough hut or lean-to that a watchman put up in a field, easily blown over.

21And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

21On that day the LORD will punish the powers in the sky above and the kings of the earth below.

22And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

22They will be herded together like prisoners in a pit. They will be locked in a prison, and after many days they will be dealt with.

Note"Visited" here does not mean a friendly visit. It means being looked into and dealt with by a judge.

23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

23Then the moon will be embarrassed and the sun will be ashamed. For the LORD of Heaven's Armies will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, shining in glory before his elders.