Isaiah 24
24
The Lord Will Punish the World
1Look! The Lord will destroy the earth and leave it empty;
he will ruin the surface of the land and scatter its people.
2At that time the same thing will happen to everyone:
to common people and priests,
to slaves and masters,
to women slaves and their women masters,
to buyers and sellers,
to those who borrow and those who lend,
to bankers and those who owe the bank.
3The earth will be completely empty.
The wealth will all be taken,
because the Lord has commanded it.
4The earth will dry up and die;
the world will grow weak and die;
the great leaders in this land will become weak.
5The people of the earth have ruined it,
because they do not follow God’s teachings
or obey God’s laws
or keep their agreement with God that was to last forever.
6So a curse will destroy the earth.
The people of the world are guilty,
so they will be burned up;
only a few will be left.
7The new wine will be bad, and the grapevines will die.
People who were happy will be sad.
8The happy music of the tambourines will end.
The happy sounds of wild parties will stop.
The joyful music from the harps will end.
9People will no longer sing while they drink their wine.
The beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10The ruined city will be empty,
and people will hide behind closed doors.
11People in the streets will ask for wine,
but joy will have turned to sadness;
all the happiness will have left.
12The city will be left in ruins,
and its gates will be smashed to pieces.
13This is what will happen all over the earth
and to all the nations.
The earth will be like an olive tree after the harvest
or like the few grapes left on a vine after harvest.
14The people shout for joy.
From the west they praise the greatness of the Lord.
15People in the east, praise the Lord.
People in the islands of the sea,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16We hear songs from every part of the earth
praising God, the Righteous One.
But I said, “I am dying! I am dying!
How terrible it will be for me!
Traitors turn against people;
with their dishonesty, they turn against people.”
17There are terrors, holes, and traps
for the people of the earth.
18Anyone who tries to escape from the sound of terror
will fall into a hole.
Anyone who climbs out of the hole
will be caught in a trap.
The clouds in the sky will pour out rain,
and the foundations of the earth will shake.
19The earth will be broken up;
the earth will split open;
the earth will shake violently.
20The earth will stumble around like someone who is drunk;
it will shake like a hut in a storm.
Its sin is like a heavy weight on its back;
it will fall and never rise again.
21At that time the Lord will punish
the powers in the sky above
and the rulers on earth below.
22They will be gathered together
like prisoners thrown into a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison.
After much time they will be punished.
23The moon will be embarrassed,
and the sun will be ashamed,
because the Lord All-Powerful will rule as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s leaders will see his greatness.
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Isaiah 24: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 24
24
Destruction of the Earth
1Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth
and make it a vast wasteland.
He devastates the surface of the earth
and scatters the people.
2Priests and laypeople,
servants and masters,
maids and mistresses,
buyers and sellers,
lenders and borrowers,
bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
3The earth will be completely emptied and looted.
The Lord has spoken!
4The earth mourns and dries up,
and the land wastes away and withers.
Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
5The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
and broken his everlasting covenant.
6Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
and only a few are left alive.
7The grapevines waste away,
and there is no new wine.
All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
8The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
9Gone are the joys of wine and song;
alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
10The city writhes in chaos;
every home is locked to keep out intruders.
11Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
Joy has turned to gloom.
Gladness has been banished from the land.
12The city is left in ruins,
its gates battered down.
13Throughout the earth the story is the same—
only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.
14But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
15In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
songs that give glory to the Righteous One!
But my heart is heavy with grief.
Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
and treachery is everywhere.
17Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
you people of the earth.
18Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.
Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
the foundations of the earth shake.
19The earth has broken up.
It has utterly collapsed;
it is violently shaken.
20The earth staggers like a drunk.
It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.
21In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
22They will be rounded up and put in prison.
They will be shut up in prison
and will finally be punished.
23Then the glory of the moon will wane,
and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
in the sight of all the leaders of his people.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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