Isaiah 24

English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24 Behold, ^(A)the Lord will empty the earth^[a] and make it desolate,
    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
²^(B)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;
^(C)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    ^(D)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³^(E)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    ^(F)for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴^(G)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
⁵The earth lies ^(H)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for ^(I)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶Therefore ^(J)a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants ^(K)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
⁷^(L)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸^(M)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹No more do they drink wine ^(N)with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰^(O)The wasted city is broken down;
    ^(P)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹^(Q)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    ^(R)all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹²Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
    among the nations,
^(S)as when an olive tree is beaten,
    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
    over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.^[b]
¹⁵^(T)Therefore in the east^[c] give glory to the Lord;
    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶^(U)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
    of glory to ^(V)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
    I waste away. Woe is me!
For ^(W)the traitors have betrayed,
    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

¹⁷^(X)Terror and the pit and the snare^[d]
    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸^(Y)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 ^(Z)the windows of heaven are opened,
    and ^(AA)the foundations of the earth tremble.
¹⁹The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰The earth ^(AB)staggers like a drunken man;
    it sways like a hut;
^(AC)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
    and it falls, and will not rise again.

²¹On that day the Lord will punish
    the host of heaven, in heaven,
    and ^(AD)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
²²^(AE)They will be gathered together
    as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
    and after many days ^(AF)they will be punished.
²³^(AG)Then the moon will be confounded
    and the sun ashamed,
for ^(AH)the Lord of hosts reigns
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.