Isaiah 13-24

New International Version

² Raise a banner^(E) on a bare hilltop,
    shout to them;
beckon to them
    to enter the gates^(F) of the nobles.
³ I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
    I have summoned my warriors^(G) to carry out my wrath^(H)—
    those who rejoice^(I) in my triumph.

⁴ Listen, a noise on the mountains,
    like that of a great multitude!^(J)
Listen, an uproar^(K) among the kingdoms,
    like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty^(L) is mustering^(M)
    an army for war.
⁵ They come from faraway lands,
    from the ends of the heavens^(N)—
the Lord and the weapons^(O) of his wrath^(P)—
    to destroy^(Q) the whole country.

⁶ Wail,^(R) for the day^(S) of the Lord is near;
    it will come like destruction^(T) from the Almighty.^[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,^(V)
    every heart will melt with fear.^(W)
8 Terror^(X) will seize them,
    pain and anguish will grip^(Y) them;
    they will writhe like a woman in labor.^(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
    their faces aflame.^(AA)

⁹ See, the day^(AB) of the Lord is coming
    —a cruel^(AC) day, with wrath^(AD) and fierce anger^(AE)—
to make the land desolate
    and destroy the sinners within it.
¹⁰ The stars of heaven and their constellations
    will not show their light.^(AF)
The rising sun^(AG) will be darkened^(AH)
    and the moon will not give its light.^(AI)
11 I will punish^(AJ) the world for its evil,
    the wicked^(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty^(AL)
    and will humble^(AM) the pride of the ruthless.^(AN)
12 I will make people^(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
    more rare than the gold of Ophir.^(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;^(AQ)
    and the earth will shake^(AR) from its place
at the wrath^(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
    in the day of his burning anger.^(AT)

¹⁴ Like a hunted^(AU) gazelle,
    like sheep without a shepherd,^(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
    they will flee^(AW) to their native land.^(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
    all who are caught will fall^(AY) by the sword.^(AZ)
16 Their infants^(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
    their houses will be looted and their wives violated.^(BB)

¹⁷ See, I will stir up^(BC) against them the Medes,^(BD)
    who do not care for silver
    and have no delight in gold.^(BE)
18 Their bows^(BF) will strike down the young men;^(BG)
    they will have no mercy^(BH) on infants,
    nor will they look with compassion on children.^(BI)
19 Babylon,^(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,^(BK)
    the pride and glory^(BL) of the Babylonians,^[b]
will be overthrown^(BM) by God
    like Sodom and Gomorrah.^(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited^(BO)
    or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads^(BP) will pitch their tents,
    there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
²¹ But desert creatures^(BQ) will lie there,
    jackals^(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls^(BS) will dwell,
    and there the wild goats^(BT) will leap about.
²² Hyenas^(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,^(BV)
    jackals^(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,^(BX)
    and her days will not be prolonged.^(BY)

14 The Lord will have compassion^(BZ) on Jacob;
    once again he will choose^(CA) Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.^(CB)
Foreigners^(CC) will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
² Nations will take them
    and bring^(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations^(CE)
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives^(CF) of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.^(CG)

How the oppressor^(CM) has come to an end!
    How his fury^[c] has ended!
⁵ The Lord has broken the rod^(CN) of the wicked,^(CO)
    the scepter^(CP) of the rulers,
⁶ which in anger struck down peoples^(CQ)
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued^(CR) nations
    with relentless aggression.^(CS)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;^(CT)
    they break into singing.^(CU)
8 Even the junipers^(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”^(CW)

⁹ The realm of the dead^(CX) below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed^(CY) to greet you—
    all those who were leaders^(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.^(DA)
10 They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”^(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,^(DC)
    along with the noise of your harps;^(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms^(DE) cover you.^(DF)

¹² How you have fallen^(DG) from heaven,
    morning star,^(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
    you who once laid low the nations!^(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
    “I will ascend^(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne^(DK)
    above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,^(DL)
    on the utmost heights^(DM) of Mount Zaphon.^[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;^(DN)
    I will make myself like the Most High.”^(DO)
15 But you are brought down^(DP) to the realm of the dead,^(DQ)
    to the depths^(DR) of the pit.^(DS)

¹⁶ Those who see you stare at you,
    they ponder your fate:^(DT)
“Is this the man who shook^(DU) the earth
    and made kingdoms tremble,
¹⁷ the man who made the world a wilderness,^(DV)
    who overthrew^(DW) its cities
    and would not let his captives go home?”^(DX)

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in state,
    each in his own tomb.^(DY)
19 But you are cast out^(DZ) of your tomb
    like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,^(EA)
    with those pierced by the sword,^(EB)
    those who descend to the stones of the pit.^(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
²⁰     you will not join them in burial,^(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
    and killed your people.

Let the offspring^(EE) of the wicked^(EF)
    never be mentioned^(EG) again.
²¹ Prepare a place to slaughter his children^(EH)
    for the sins of their ancestors;^(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
    and cover the earth with their cities.

²² “I will rise up^(EJ) against them,”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name^(EK) and survivors,
    her offspring and descendants,^(EL)”
declares the Lord.
²³ “I will turn her into a place for owls^(EM)
    and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,^(EN)”
    declares the Lord Almighty.^(EO)

“Surely, as I have planned,^(EQ) so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.^(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian^(ES) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke^(ET) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.^(EU)”

²⁶ This is the plan^(EV) determined for the whole world;
    this is the hand^(EW) stretched out over all nations.
²⁷ For the Lord Almighty has purposed,^(EX) and who can thwart him?
    His hand^(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?^(EZ)

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,^(FD)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,^(FE)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.^(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy^(FG) will lie down in safety.^(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;^(FI)
    it will slay^(FJ) your survivors.^(FK)

³¹ Wail,^(FL) you gate!^(FM) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!^(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,^(FO)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.^(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
    to the envoys^(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,^(FR)
    and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.^(FS)”

Ar^(FW) in Moab is ruined,^(FX)
    destroyed in a night!
Kir^(FY) in Moab is ruined,
    destroyed in a night!
² Dibon^(FZ) goes up to its temple,
    to its high places^(GA) to weep;
    Moab wails^(GB) over Nebo^(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved^(GD)
    and every beard cut off.^(GE)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;^(GF)
    on the roofs^(GG) and in the public squares^(GH)
they all wail,^(GI)
    prostrate with weeping.^(GJ)
4 Heshbon^(GK) and Elealeh^(GL) cry out,
    their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.^(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
    and their hearts are faint.

⁵ My heart cries out^(GN) over Moab;^(GO)
    her fugitives^(GP) flee as far as Zoar,^(GQ)
    as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
    weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim^(GR)
    they lament their destruction.^(GS)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up^(GT)
    and the grass is withered;^(GU)
the vegetation is gone^(GV)
    and nothing green is left.^(GW)
7 So the wealth they have acquired^(GX) and stored up
    they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
⁸ Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
    their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
    their lamentation as far as Beer^(GY) Elim.
⁹ The waters of Dimon^[e] are full of blood,
    but I will bring still more upon Dimon^[f]—
a lion^(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab^(HA)
    and upon those who remain in the land.

16 Send lambs^(HB) as tribute^(HC)
    to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,^(HD) across the desert,
    to the mount of Daughter Zion.^(HE)
2 Like fluttering birds
    pushed from the nest,^(HF)
so are the women of Moab^(HG)
    at the fords^(HH) of the Arnon.^(HI)

³ “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
    “Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
    at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,^(HJ)
    do not betray the refugees.
⁴ Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
    be their shelter^(HK) from the destroyer.”

The oppressor^(HL) will come to an end,
    and destruction will cease;^(HM)
    the aggressor will vanish from the land.
⁵ In love a throne^(HN) will be established;^(HO)
    in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
    one from the house^[g] of David^(HP)—
one who in judging seeks justice^(HQ)
    and speeds the cause of righteousness.

⁶ We have heard of Moab’s^(HR) pride^(HS)—
    how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
    but her boasts are empty.
⁷ Therefore the Moabites wail,^(HT)
    they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
    for the raisin cakes^(HU) of Kir Hareseth.^(HV)
8 The fields of Heshbon^(HW) wither,^(HX)
    the vines of Sibmah^(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
    have trampled down the choicest vines,^(HZ)
which once reached Jazer^(IA)
    and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out^(IB)
    and went as far as the sea.^[h](IC)
9 So I weep,^(ID) as Jazer weeps,
    for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,^(IE)
    I drench you with tears!^(IF)
The shouts of joy^(IG) over your ripened fruit
    and over your harvests^(IH) have been stilled.
¹⁰ Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;^(II)
    no one sings or shouts^(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads^(IK) out wine at the presses,^(IL)
    for I have put an end to the shouting.
¹¹ My heart laments for Moab^(IM) like a harp,^(IN)
    my inmost being^(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
¹² When Moab appears at her high place,^(IP)
    she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine^(IQ) to pray,
    it is to no avail.^(IR)

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
    but will become a heap of ruins.^(IZ)
2 The cities of Aroer^(JA) will be deserted
    and left to flocks,^(JB) which will lie down,^(JC)
    with no one to make them afraid.^(JD)
3 The fortified^(JE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
    and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
    like the glory^(JF) of the Israelites,”^(JG)
declares the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “In that day^(JH) the glory^(JI) of Jacob will fade;
    the fat of his body will waste^(JJ) away.
⁵ It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
    gathering^(JK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain^(JL)
    in the Valley of Rephaim.^(JM)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,^(JN)
    as when an olive tree is beaten,^(JO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
    four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁷ In that day^(JP) people will look^(JQ) to their Maker^(JR)
    and turn their eyes to the Holy One^(JS) of Israel.
⁸ They will not look to the altars,^(JT)
    the work of their hands,^(JU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles^[i](JV)
    and the incense altars their fingers^(JW) have made.

¹⁰ You have forgotten^(JY) God your Savior;^(JZ)
    you have not remembered the Rock,^(KA) your fortress.^(KB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
    and plant imported vines,^(KC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
    and on the morning^(KD) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest^(KE) will be as nothing^(KF)
    in the day of disease and incurable^(KG) pain.^(KH)

¹² Woe to the many nations that rage^(KI)—
    they rage like the raging sea!^(KJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar^(KK)—
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!^(KL)
13 Although the peoples roar^(KM) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes^(KN) them they flee^(KO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff^(KP) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.^(KQ)
14 In the evening, sudden^(KR) terror!^(KS)
    Before the morning, they are gone!^(KT)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(KY)
    to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive^(KZ) nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers.^(LA)

³ All you people of the world,^(LB)
    you who live on the earth,
when a banner^(LC) is raised on the mountains,
    you will see it,
and when a trumpet^(LD) sounds,
    you will hear it.
⁴ This is what the Lord says to me:
    “I will remain quiet^(LE) and will look on from my dwelling place,^(LF)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,^(LG)
    like a cloud of dew^(LH) in the heat of harvest.”
⁵ For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off^(LI) the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.^(LJ)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey^(LK)
    and to the wild animals;^(LL)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter.

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(LN)
    from a people feared^(LO) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
    whose land is divided by rivers^(LP)—

See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud^(LT)
    and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
    and the hearts of the Egyptians melt^(LU) with fear.

² “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
    brother will fight against brother,^(LV)
    neighbor against neighbor,
    city against city,
    kingdom against kingdom.^(LW)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,^(LX)
    and I will bring their plans^(LY) to nothing;^(LZ)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
    the mediums and the spiritists.^(MA)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
    to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king^(MB) will rule over them,”
    declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

⁵ The waters of the river will dry up,^(MC)
    and the riverbed will be parched and dry.^(MD)
6 The canals will stink;^(ME)
    the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.^(MF)
The reeds^(MG) and rushes will wither,^(MH)
7     also the plants^(MI) along the Nile,
    at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field^(MJ) along the Nile
    will become parched, will blow away and be no more.^(MK)
8 The fishermen^(ML) will groan and lament,
    all who cast hooks^(MM) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
    will pine away.
⁹ Those who work with combed flax^(MN) will despair,
    the weavers of fine linen^(MO) will lose hope.
¹⁰ The workers in cloth will be dejected,
    and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹¹ The officials of Zoan^(MP) are nothing but fools;
    the wise counselors^(MQ) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.^(MR)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
    “I am one of the wise men,^(MS)
    a disciple of the ancient kings”?

¹² Where are your wise men^(MT) now?
    Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
    has planned^(MU) against Egypt.
¹³ The officials of Zoan^(MV) have become fools,
    the leaders of Memphis^(MW) are deceived;
the cornerstones^(MX) of her peoples
    have led Egypt astray.
¹⁴ The Lord has poured into them
    a spirit of dizziness;^(MY)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
    as a drunkard staggers^(MZ) around in his vomit.
¹⁵ There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.^(NA)

Like whirlwinds^(PO) sweeping through the southland,^(PP)
    an invader comes from the desert,
    from a land of terror.

² A dire^(PQ) vision has been shown to me:
    The traitor betrays,^(PR) the looter takes loot.
Elam,^(PS) attack! Media,^(PT) lay siege!
    I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³ At this my body is racked with pain,^(PU)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(PV)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered^(PW) by what I see.
⁴ My heart^(PX) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;^(PY)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror^(PZ) to me.

⁵ They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!^(QA)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!^(QB)

“Go, post a lookout^(QC)
    and have him report what he sees.
⁷ When he sees chariots^(QD)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,^(QE)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
⁹ Look, here comes a man in a chariot^(QG)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon^(QH) has fallen,^(QI) has fallen!
All the images of its gods^(QJ)
    lie shattered^(QK) on the ground!’”

¹⁰ My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(QL)
    I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
    from the God of Israel.

Someone calls to me from Seir,^(QN)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
¹² The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

You caravans of Dedanites,^(QQ)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
¹⁴     bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,^(QR)
    bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵ They flee^(QS) from the sword,^(QT)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the roofs,^(RC)
2 you town so full of commotion,
    you city of tumult^(RD) and revelry?^(RE)
Your slain^(RF) were not killed by the sword,^(RG)
    nor did they die in battle.
³ All your leaders have fled^(RH) together;
    they have been captured^(RI) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
    having fled while the enemy was still far away.
⁴ Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
    let me weep^(RJ) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
    over the destruction of my people.”^(RK)

⁵ The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day^(RL)
    of tumult and trampling^(RM) and terror^(RN)
    in the Valley of Vision,^(RO)
a day of battering down walls^(RP)
    and of crying out to the mountains.
⁶ Elam^(RQ) takes up the quiver,^(RR)
    with her charioteers and horses;
    Kir^(RS) uncovers the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys^(RT) are full of chariots,
    and horsemen are posted at the city gates.^(RU)

⁸ The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
    and you looked in that day^(RV)
    to the weapons^(RW) in the Palace of the Forest.^(RX)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
    were broken through^(RY) in many places;
you stored up water
    in the Lower Pool.^(RZ)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
    and tore down houses^(SA) to strengthen the wall.^(SB)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls^(SC)
    for the water of the Old Pool,^(SD)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
    or have regard^(SE) for the One who planned^(SF) it long ago.

¹² The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day^(SG)
to weep^(SH) and to wail,
    to tear out your hair^(SI) and put on sackcloth.^(SJ)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,^(SK)
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!^(SL)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”^(SM)

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna^(SP) the palace^(SQ) administrator:^(SR)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave^(SS) for yourself^(ST) here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

¹⁷ “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl^(SU) you away, you mighty man.
¹⁸ He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw^(SV) you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots^(SW) you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
¹⁹ I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted^(SX) from your position.^(SY)

Wail,^(TP) you ships^(TQ) of Tarshish!^(TR)
    For Tyre is destroyed^(TS)
    and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

² Be silent,^(TT) you people of the island
    and you merchants^(TU) of Sidon,^(TV)
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
³ On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;^(TW)
the harvest of the Nile^[r](TX) was the revenue of Tyre,^(TY)
    and she became the marketplace of the nations.

⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon,^(TZ) and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;^(UA)
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
⁵ When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish^(UB) at the report from Tyre.^(UC)

⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;^(UD)
    wail, you people of the island.
⁷ Is this your city of revelry,^(UE)
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
⁸ Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants^(UF) are princes,
    whose traders^(UG) are renowned in the earth?
⁹ The Lord Almighty planned^(UH) it,
    to bring down^(UI) her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble^(UJ) all who are renowned^(UK) on the earth.

¹⁰ Till^[s] your land as they do along the Nile,
    Daughter Tarshish,
    for you no longer have a harbor.
¹¹ The Lord has stretched out his hand^(UL) over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.^(UM)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.^(UN)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,^(UO)
    Virgin Daughter^(UP) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;^(UQ)
    even there you will find no rest.”
¹³ Look at the land of the Babylonians,^[t](UR)
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians^(US) have made it
    a place for desert creatures;^(UT)
they raised up their siege towers,^(UU)
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.^(UV)

¹⁴ Wail, you ships^(UW) of Tarshish;^(UX)
    your fortress is destroyed!^(UY)

¹⁶ “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;^(VB)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

⁴ The earth dries up^(VR) and withers,^(VS)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens^(VT) languish with the earth.^(VU)
5 The earth is defiled^(VV) by its people;
    they have disobeyed^(VW) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.^(VX)
6 Therefore a curse^(VY) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,^(VZ)
    and very few are left.
⁷ The new wine dries up^(WA) and the vine withers;^(WB)
    all the merrymakers groan.^(WC)
8 The joyful timbrels^(WD) are stilled,
    the noise^(WE) of the revelers^(WF) has stopped,
    the joyful harp^(WG) is silent.^(WH)
9 No longer do they drink wine^(WI) with a song;
    the beer is bitter^(WJ) to its drinkers.
¹⁰ The ruined city^(WK) lies desolate;^(WL)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
¹¹ In the streets they cry out^(WM) for wine;^(WN)
    all joy turns to gloom,^(WO)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
¹² The city is left in ruins,^(WP)
    its gate^(WQ) is battered to pieces.
¹³ So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,^(WR)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.^(WS)

¹⁴ They raise their voices, they shout for joy;^(WT)
    from the west^(WU) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
¹⁵ Therefore in the east^(WV) give glory^(WW) to the Lord;
    exalt^(WX) the name^(WY) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands^(WZ) of the sea.
¹⁶ From the ends of the earth^(XA) we hear singing:^(XB)
    “Glory^(XC) to the Righteous One.”^(XD)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!^(XE)
    Woe^(XF) to me!
The treacherous^(XG) betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!^(XH)”
¹⁷ Terror^(XI) and pit and snare^(XJ) await you,
    people of the earth.^(XK)
18 Whoever flees^(XL) at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;^(XM)
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.^(XN)

The floodgates of the heavens^(XO) are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.^(XP)
19 The earth is broken up,^(XQ)
    the earth is split asunder,^(XR)
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth reels like a drunkard,^(XS)
    it sways like a hut^(XT) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion^(XU)
    that it falls^(XV)—never to rise again.^(XW)

²¹ In that day^(XX) the Lord will punish^(XY)
    the powers^(XZ) in the heavens above
    and the kings^(YA) on the earth below.
²² They will be herded together
    like prisoners^(YB) bound in a dungeon;^(YC)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished^[u] after many days.^(YD)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun^(YE) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign^(YF)
    on Mount Zion^(YG) and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders—with great glory.^(YH)