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The Earth is Judged

24 “Watch out! The Lord[a] is about to depopulate the land
    and devastate it;
he will turn it upside down[b]
    and scatter its inhabitants.
It will be the same for the lay people as for priests,
    the same for servants as for their masters,
for female servants as for their mistresses,
    for buyers as for sellers,
for lenders as for borrowers,
    and for creditors as for debtors.
The earth will be utterly depopulated
    and completely laid waste —
        for the Lord has spoken this message.[c]

“The earth dries up and withers;
    the world languishes and fades away;
heaven fades away,
    along with the earth.[d]
The earth lies defiled
    beneath its inhabitants;
because they have transgressed the laws,[e]
violated the statutes,
and broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore the curse keeps on consuming,[f]
    and its inhabitants are declared guilty.
Furthermore, the inhabitants of earth are ablaze,
    and few people are left.
The new wine evaporates;
    the vine and the oil[g] dry up;
        all the merrymakers groan.

“The celebrations of the tambourine have ended,
    the noise of the jubilant has stopped,
        and the mirth that the harp produces has ended.
No longer do they drink wine
    accompanied by singing;
        even beer[h] tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 The chaotic city lies broken down;
    every house is closed up
        so that no one can enter them.[i]
11 There is an outcry in the streets over wine;
    all cheer turns to gloom;
        the fun times of the earth are banished.
12 Desolation remains in the city
    whose gates lie battered into ruins.
13 So it will be on the earth
    and among the nations—
as when an olive tree is beaten,
    or as gleanings when the grape harvest has ended.”

Glorifying God

14 “They raise their voices;
    they shout for joy;[j]
from the west[k] they shout aloud[l]
    over the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore, you in the east,[m]
    give glory to the Lord!
You in the coastlands of the sea,
    give glory to the name of the Lord God of Israel!
16 From the ends of the earth
    we hear songs of praise:
        ‘Glory to the Righteous One!’

“But I say, ‘I am pining away,
    I’m pining away.
        How terrible things are for me!
For treacherous people betray—
    treacherous people are betraying with treachery!’”

The Universal Impact of Judgment

17 “Terror and pit and snare are coming in your direction,
    you inhabitants of the earth!
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit,
and whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.
For the windows of judgment[n] from above are opened,
    and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is utterly shattered,
    the earth is split apart,
        the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth[o] reels to and fro like a drunkard;
    it sways like a hut;[p]
its transgression lies so heavy upon it,
    that it falls, never to rise again.

21 “And it will come about at that time,[q]
    the Lord will punish
the armies of the exalted ones in the heavens,[r]
    and the rulers[s] of the earth on earth.
22 They[t] will be herded together[u]
    into the Pit;[v]
they will be shut up in prison,
    and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be embarrassed
    and the sun ashamed,
for the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will reign
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem;
and in the presence of its elders
    there will be glory.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 24:1 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads Lord
  2. Isaiah 24:1 Or distort its surface
  3. Isaiah 24:3 Lit. word
  4. Isaiah 24:4 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; MT reads the heavens fade away; cf. LXX reads the exalted ones of the earth mourn
  5. Isaiah 24:5 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac LXX read the Law
  6. Isaiah 24:6 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read consuming the earth
  7. Isaiah 24:7 So 4QIsac; 1QIsaa MT LXX lack and the oil
  8. Isaiah 24:9 Or and strong drink
  9. Isaiah 24:10 1QIsaa MT lack them
  10. Isaiah 24:14 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads and they shout
  11. Isaiah 24:14 Lit. sea; so 1QIsaa MT; cf. LXX; 4QIsac reads day
  12. Isaiah 24:14 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads And they cry out
  13. Isaiah 24:15 So 1QIsaa MT; 4Q1sac reads in the east, in Aram; LXX lacks in the east
  14. Isaiah 24:18 1QIsaa MT lack of judgment
  15. Isaiah 24:20 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Earth
  16. Isaiah 24:20 So MT; 1QIsaa lacks like a hut
  17. Isaiah 24:21 Lit. about on that day
  18. Isaiah 24:21 Or ones on high
  19. Isaiah 24:21 Lit. kings
  20. Isaiah 24:22 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read And they
  21. Isaiah 24:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsac MT read together like prisoners
  22. Isaiah 24:22 I.e., the place of punishment in the afterlife; or into a dungeon;