Isaiah 24:20-23

24:20 The earth will stagger around ¹  like a drunk;

it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. ² 

Its sin will weigh it down,

and it will fall and never get up again.

The Lord Will Become King

24:21 At that time ³  the Lord will punish ⁴ 

the heavenly forces in the heavens ⁵ 

and the earthly kings on the earth.

24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, ⁶ 

locked up in a prison,

and after staying there for a long time, ⁷  they will be punished. ⁸ 

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ⁹ 

the bright sun ¹⁰  will be darkened; ¹¹ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ¹² 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ¹³ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ¹⁴ 

[24:20]  ¹ tn Heb “staggering, staggers.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis and sound play.

[24:20]  ² tn The words “in a windstorm” are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.

[24:21]  ³ tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”

[24:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).

[24:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.

[24:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”

[24:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”

[24:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ¹² tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”