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
God Will Punish Israel
1Look, the Lord is destroying this land.#24:1 land Or “earth.” He will clean out the land completely and force all the people to go far away. 2At that time whatever happens to the common people will also happen to the priests. Slaves and masters will be the same. Women slaves and their women masters will be the same. Buyers and sellers will be the same. Those who borrow and those who lend will be the same. Bankers and those who owe the bank will be the same. 3Everyone will be forced out of the land. All the wealth will be taken. This will happen because the Lord commanded it. 4The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.
5The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God. 6The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong, so God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished, and only a few of them will survive.
7The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. People who were happy are now sad. 8They have stopped showing their joy. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended. 9They no longer sing as they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10“Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People cannot enter the houses. The doors are blocked. 11People still ask for wine in the marketplaces, but all the joy is gone. It was carried off with everything else. 12All that is left is destruction. Even the gates are crushed.
13At harvest time, people knock olives from the trees.
But a few olives are left in the trees.
It will be like that in this land and among the nations.
14Those who are left will begin shouting louder than the ocean.
They will rejoice about the Lord’s greatness.
15They will say, “People in the east, praise the Lord!
People in faraway lands,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”
16We hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth.
They praise the God who does what is right.
But I say, “Enough!
I have had enough.
What I see is terrible.
Traitors are turning against people and hurting them.”
17I see troubles for you people living in this land.
I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
18People will hear about the danger,
and they will be afraid.
Some of them will run away,
but they will fall into holes and be trapped.
Some of them will climb out of the holes,
but they will be caught in another trap.
The floodgates in the sky above will open,
and the floods will begin.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19There will be earthquakes,
and the earth will split open.
20The sins of the world are very heavy,
so the earth will fall under the weight.
It will shake like an old house.
It will fall like a drunk.
It will not be able to stand.
21At that time the Lord will judge
the heavenly armies in heaven
and the earthly kings on earth.
22Many people will be gathered together.
They have been locked in the Pit.
They have been in prison.#24:22 Pit … prison This is probably “Sheol,” the grave.
But finally, after a long time, they will be judged.
23The Lord will rule as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
His Glory will be shown to the city leaders with such brightness that
the moon will be embarrassed
and the sun will be ashamed.
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