Isaiah - 24

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1 B ehold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.

2 A nd 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 him from whom usury is taken.

3 T he land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.

4 T he land mourneth, it fadeth away; the world languisheth, it fadeth away: the haughty people of the land do languish.

5 A nd the land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, broken the everlasting covenant.

6 T herefore doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left.

7 T he new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all that were merry-hearted do sigh;

8 t he mirth of tambours ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

9 T hey do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it.

10 T he city of solitude is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none entereth in.

11 T here is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone;

12 d esolation remaineth in the city, and the gate is smitten,—a ruin.

13 F or so will it be in the midst of the land among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the grape-gleanings when the vintage is done.

14 T hese shall lift up their voice, they shall shout for the majesty of Jehovah, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

15 T herefore glorify Jehovah in the east, the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the west.

16 F rom the end of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous! And I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.

17 F ear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant of the land.

18 A nd it shall come to pass, he who fleeth from the sound 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 on high are open, and the foundations of the earth shake.

19 T he earth is utterly broken down, the earth is completely dissolved, the earth is violently moved.

20 T he earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and is shaken like a night hut; and its transgression is heavy upon it; and it falleth and shall not rise again.

21 A nd it shall come to pass in that day, Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22 A nd they shall be brought together, an assemblage of prisoners for the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

23 A nd the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts shall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in glory.