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20 The earth will stagger around[a] like a drunk;
it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm.[b]
Its sin will weigh it down,
and it will fall and never get up again.

The Lord Will Become King

21 At that time[c] the Lord will punish[d]
the heavenly forces in the heavens[e]
and the earthly kings on the earth.
22 They will be imprisoned in a pit,[f]
locked up in a prison,
and after staying there for a long time,[g] they will be punished.[h]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:20 tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.
  2. Isaiah 24:20 tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
  3. Isaiah 24:21 tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  4. Isaiah 24:21 tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”
  5. Isaiah 24:21 tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets; see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).
  6. Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (ʾasefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.
  7. Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”
  8. Isaiah 24:22 tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”

20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(A)
    it sways like a hut(B) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(C)
    that it falls(D)—never to rise again.(E)

21 In that day(F) the Lord will punish(G)
    the powers(H) in the heavens above
    and the kings(I) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
    like prisoners(J) bound in a dungeon;(K)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished[a] after many days.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:22 Or released