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.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 24: CEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 24
24
1Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants. 2And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with him from whom usury is taken. 3The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word. 4The land mourneth, it fadeth away; the world languisheth, it fadeth away: the haughty people of the land do languish. 5And the land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left. 7The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all that were merry-hearted do sigh; 8the mirth of tambours ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it. 10The city of solitude is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none entereth in. 11There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone; 12desolation remaineth in the city, and the gate is smitten, — a ruin.
13For so will it be in the midst of the land among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the grape-gleanings when the vintage is done. 14These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout for the majesty of Jehovah, they shall cry aloud from the sea. 15Therefore glorify Jehovah in the east, the name of Jehovah, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of Israel, in the isles of the west.
16From the end of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous! And I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously. 17Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant of the land. 18And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the sound of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows on high are open, and the foundations of the earth shake. 19The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is completely dissolved, the earth is violently moved. 20The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and is shaken like a night hut; and its transgression is heavy upon it; and it falleth and shall not rise again. 21And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22And they shall be brought together, as an assemblage of prisoners for the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be visited. 23And the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts shall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in glory.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.