Isaiah 24:21-22

The Lord Will Become King

24:21 At that time ¹  the Lord will punish ² 

the heavenly forces in the heavens ³ 

and the earthly kings on the earth.

24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, ⁴ 

locked up in a prison,

and after staying there for a long time, ⁵  they will be punished. ⁶ 

[24:21]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”

[24:21]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”

[24:22]  ⁶ 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.”