Isaiah

The book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 24, New English Translation and King James Version

Chapter 24 New English Translation

The LORD Will Judge the Earth

   1 Look, the LORD is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
   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.
   3 The earth will be completely devastated and thoroughly ransacked. For the LORD has decreed this judgment.
   4 The earth dries up and withers, the world shrivels up and withers; the prominent people of the earth fade away.
   5 The earth is defiled by its inhabitants, for they have violated laws, disregarded the regulation, and broken the permanent treaty.
   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.
   7 The new wine dries up, the vines shrivel up, all those who like to celebrate groan.
   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.
   9 They no longer sing and drink wine; the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.
   10 The ruined town is shattered; all of the houses are shut up tight.
   11 They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; all joy turns to sorrow; celebrations disappear from the earth.
   12 The city is left in ruins; the gate is reduced to rubble.
   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.
   14 They lift their voices and shout joyfully; they praise the majesty of the LORD in the west.
   15 So in the east extol the LORD, along the seacoasts extol the fame of the LORD God of Israel.
   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!"
   17 Terror, pit, and snare are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth!
   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.
   19 The earth is broken in pieces, the earth is ripped to shreds, the earth shakes violently.
   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.

The LORD Will Become King

   21 At that time the LORD will punish the heavenly forces in the heavens and the earthly kings on the earth.
   22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, locked up in a prison, and after staying there for a long time, they will be punished.
   23 The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the LORD who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.

King James Version

   1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
   2 And 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 the giver of usury to him.
   3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
   4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
   5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
   6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
   7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
   8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
   9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
   10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
   11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
   12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
   13 ¶ When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
   14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
   15 Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
   16 ¶ From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
   17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
   18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise 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 from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
   19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
   20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
   21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
   22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
   23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.