Isaiah 24:1-23, NLT

Isaiah 24

Destruction of the Earth

1Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth

and make it a vast wasteland.

He devastates the surface of the earth

and scatters the people.

2Priests and laypeople,

servants and masters,

maids and mistresses,

buyers and sellers,

lenders and borrowers,

bankers and debtors—none will be spared.

3The earth will be completely emptied and looted.

The Lord has spoken!

4The earth mourns and dries up,

and the land wastes away and withers.

Even the greatest people on earth waste away.

5The earth suffers for the sins of its people,

for they have twisted God’s instructions,

violated his laws,

and broken his everlasting covenant.

6Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.

Its people must pay the price for their sin.

They are destroyed by fire,

and only a few are left alive.

7The grapevines waste away,

and there is no new wine.

All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.

8The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;

the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.

The melodious chords of the harp are silent.

9Gone are the joys of wine and song;

alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.

10The city writhes in chaos;

every home is locked to keep out intruders.

11Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.

Joy has turned to gloom.

Gladness has been banished from the land.

12The city is left in ruins,

its gates battered down.

13Throughout the earth the story is the same—

only a remnant is left,

like the stray olives left on the tree

or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

14But all who are left shout and sing for joy.

Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.

15In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.

In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

16We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,

songs that give glory to the Righteous One!

But my heart is heavy with grief.

Weep for me, for I wither away.

Deceit still prevails,

and treachery is everywhere.

17Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,

you people of the earth.

18Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,

and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.

Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;

the foundations of the earth shake.

19The earth has broken up.

It has utterly collapsed;

it is violently shaken.

20The earth staggers like a drunk.

It trembles like a tent in a storm.

It falls and will not rise again,

for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.

21In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens

and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.

22They will be rounded up and put in prison.

They will be shut up in prison

and will finally be punished.

23Then the glory of the moon will wane,

and the brightness of the sun will fade,

for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.

He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,

in the sight of all the leaders of his people.