Isaiah 24

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 will empty the earth. He will leave it in ruins. He will twist its surface. He will 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, the men who led worship. To servants and to their masters. To maids and to the women they served. To buyers and to sellers. To people who lend and to people who borrow. To people who are owed money and to people who owe it.

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

3The earth will be completely emptied. Everything in it will be taken away. The LORD has said this will happen.

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

4The earth dries up and mourns. The world grows weak and fades away. 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 earth is made dirty by the people living on it. They broke God's laws. They pushed his rules aside. They broke 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. The people living there must carry the blame. They have been burned up. 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 happy now groans.

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

8The happy tambourines, small drums shaken by hand, have stopped. The noise of the party is over. The glad harp is silent.

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

9They do not sing and drink wine anymore. Strong drink tastes bitter to the ones who drink it.

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

10The city full of trouble is smashed to pieces. Every house is shut. No one can go 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. Gladness is gone from the land.

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

12The city is left in ruins. Its gate is broken into rubble.

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 on the earth, among all the peoples. It will be like an olive tree after the olives are shaken down. It will be like a vineyard after the grapes are picked. Only a few are left.

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

14But some people lift up their voices. They shout for joy. From the sea in the west they tell how great the LORD is.

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 out in the sea.

NoteThe old wording says "in the fires." The Hebrew word is usually taken to mean the east, where the sun rises. That fits the islands in the west named next in the verse.

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. They sing, "Glory to the One who is right and good." But I said, "I am wasting away! I am wasting away! How sad for me!" People who cheat keep on cheating. They cheat again and again.

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

17Terror, a deep pit, and a hidden trap are waiting for you. This is for 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.

18Someone will run from the frightening noise and fall into the pit. Someone will climb out of the pit and get caught in the trap. The windows of the sky are open. The foundations deep under the earth are shaking.

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

19The earth is broken all apart. The earth is split wide open. The earth is shaken very 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 wobbles like a person who has drunk too much. It sways like a small hut in the wind. Its wrongdoing weighs it down. It falls and does not get up again.

NoteThe old wording says "cottage." That did not mean a cozy little house. It meant a flimsy shelter in a field that sways in the wind.

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 high above in the heavens. He will also punish the kings down here on the earth.

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 gathered together like prisoners thrown into a pit. They will be shut inside a locked prison. After many days they will be punished.

NoteThe old wording says they will be "visited." Here that does not mean a friendly visit. It means they will be dealt with and punished.

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 ashamed and the sun will be embarrassed. The LORD who leads heaven's armies will rule as king on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. His shining glory will be seen by his elders, the older leaders of his people.