Isaiah 24:1-20

The Lord Will Judge the Earth

24:1 Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth

and leave it in ruins;

he will mar its surface

and scatter its inhabitants.

24:2 Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people,

the master as well as the servant,

the elegant lady as well as the female attendant,

the seller as well as the buyer,

the borrower as well as the lender,

the creditor as well as the debtor.

24:3 The earth will be completely devastated

and thoroughly ransacked.

For the Lord has decreed this judgment.

24:4 The earth dries up and withers,

the world shrivels up and withers;

the prominent people of the earth fade away.

24:5 The earth is defiled by its inhabitants,

for they have violated laws,

disregarded the regulation,

and broken the permanent treaty.

24:6 So a treaty curse devours the earth;

its inhabitants pay for their guilt.

This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear,

and are reduced to just a handful of people.

24:7 The new wine dries up,

the vines shrivel up,

all those who like to celebrate groan.

24:8 The happy sound of the tambourines stops,

the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,

the happy sound of the harp ceases.

24:9 They no longer sing and drink wine;

the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.

24:10 The ruined town is shattered;

all of the houses are shut up tight.

24:11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine;

all joy turns to sorrow;

celebrations disappear from the earth.

24:12 The city is left in ruins;

the gate is reduced to rubble.

24:13 This is what will happen throughout the earth,

among the nations.

It will be like when they beat an olive tree,

and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.

24:14 They lift their voices and shout joyfully;

they praise the majesty of the Lord in the west.

24:15 So in the east extol the Lord,

along the seacoasts extol the fame of the Lord God of Israel.

24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs –

the Just One is majestic.

But I say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!”

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth!

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit;

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens are opened up

and the foundations of the earth shake.

24:19 The earth is broken in pieces,

the earth is ripped to shreds,

the earth shakes violently.

24:20 The earth will stagger around like a drunk;

it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm.

Its sin will weigh it down,

and it will fall and never get up again.