Isaiah 24
24
The Earth Will Be Punished
1The Lord is going to twist the earth out of shape and turn it into a desert. Everyone will be scattered, 2including ordinary people and priests, slaves and slave owners, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, the rich and the poor. 3The earth will be stripped bare and left that way. This is what the Lord has promised.
4The earth wilts away;
its mighty leaders melt
to nothing.#24.4 its … to nothing: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5The earth is polluted
because its people
disobeyed the laws of God,
breaking their agreement
that was to last forever.
6The earth is under a curse;
its people are dying out
because of their sins.
7Grapevines have dried up:
wine is almost gone—
mournful sounds are heard
instead of joyful shouts.
8No one plays tambourines
or stringed instruments;
all noisy celebrating
has come to an end.
9They no longer sing
as they drink their wine,
and it tastes sour.
10Towns are crushed and in chaos;
houses are locked tight.
11Happy times have disappeared
from the earth,
and people shout in the streets,
“We're out of wine!”
12Cities are destroyed;
their gates are torn down.
13Nations will be stripped bare,
like olive trees or vineyards
after the harvest season.
Praise the God of Justice
14People in the west shout;
they joyfully praise
the majesty of the Lord.
15And so, everyone in the east
and those on the islands
should praise the Lord,
the God of Israel.
16From all over the world
songs of praise are heard
for the God of justice.#24.16 God of justice: Or “people who do right.”
But I feel awful,
terribly miserable.
Can anyone be trusted?
So many are treacherous!
There's No Escape
17Terror, traps, and pits
are waiting for everyone.
18If you are terrified and run,
you will fall into a pit;
if you crawl out of the pit,
you will get caught in a trap.
The sky has split apart
like a window thrown open.
The foundations of the earth
have been shaken;
19the earth is shattered,
ripped to pieces.
20It staggers and shakes
like a drunkard
or a hut in a windstorm.
It is burdened down with sin;
the earth will fall,
never again to get up.
21On that day the Lord
will punish the powers
in the heavens#24.21 the powers in the heavens: In ancient times the stars were thought of as powerful spiritual beings, and sometimes they stood for pagan gods.
and the kings of the earth.
22He will put them in a pit
and keep them prisoner.
Then later on,
he will punish them.
23Both the moon and sun will
be embarrassed and ashamed.
The Lord All-Powerful will rule
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
where he will show its rulers
his wonderful glory.
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Isaiah 24: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 24
24
Judgment on the Earth
1Behold, the Lord #The gradual destruction of the earth, as revealed by God to Isaiah, is prophesied in this passage. He sees both the current and the future tragedies which will befall earth.lays waste to the earth, devastates it, twists and distorts its face and scatters its inhabitants. 2And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor [as God’s impartial judgment of sin comes on all]. 3The earth will be completely laid waste and utterly pillaged, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4The earth dries up and crumbles away, the world dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. 5The earth also is polluted #Lit under.by its inhabitants, because they have transgressed laws, violated statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned [under the curse of God’s wrath], and few people are left.
7The new wine mourns,
The vine decays;
All the merry-hearted sigh and groan.
8The mirth of the timbrels (tambourines) ceases,
The noise of those who rejoice ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9They do not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10The city of chaos is broken down;
Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
11There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
All jubilation is darkened,
The joy of the earth is banished.
12Horrible desolation is left in the city,
And the gate is battered into ruins.
13For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over [and only a little of the fruit remains].
14They [who have escaped and remain] raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They rejoice from the [Mediterranean] Sea in the majesty of the Lord.
15Therefore honor and glorify the Lord in the east [in the region of light],
The name of the Lord, the God of Israel [honor His name],
In the coastlands and islands of the [Mediterranean] Sea.
16From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory and honor to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe to me!
The treacherous deal treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17Terror and pit [of destruction] and snare
Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18Then it will be that he who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19The earth is broken completely apart,
The earth is split apart,
The earth is shaken violently.
20The earth reels back and forth like a drunkard
And sways like a shack;
Its transgression lies heavily upon it,
And it will fall and not rise again.
21So it will happen in that day
That the Lord will visit and punish the host (fallen angels) of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on the earth.
22They will be gathered together
As prisoners [are gathered] in a dungeon;
They will be shut up in prison,
And after many days they will be visited and punished.
23Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed,
For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.
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