Isaiah 24 - Prayer Tents

Destruction of the Earth

24Look! 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.H3068H776H1238H1110H5753H6440H6327H3427 2Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared.H5971H3548H5650H113H8198H1404H7069H4376H3867H3867H5383H834H5378 3The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!H776H1238H1238H962H962H3068H1696H1697 4The earth mourns and dries up, and the crops waste away and wither. Even the greatest people on earth waste away.H776H56H5034H8398H535H5034H4791H5971H776H535 5The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.H776H2610H3427H5674H8451H2498H2706H6565H5769H1285 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.H423H398H776H3427H816H3427H776H2787H4213H582H7604 7The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.H8492H56H1612H535H8056H3820H584 8The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent.H4885H8596H7673H7588H5947H2308H4885H3658H7673 9Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.H8354H3196H7892H7941H4843H8354 10The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders.H7151H8414H7665H1004H5462H935 11Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land.H6682H3196H2351H8057H6150H4885H776H1540 12The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.H5892H7604H8047H8179H3807H7591 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.H7130H776H8432H5971H5363H2132H5955H1210H3615 14But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.H5375H6963H7442H1347H3068H6670H3220 15In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord. In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.H3513H3068H217H8034H3068H430H3478H339H3220 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.H3671H776H8085H2158H6643H6662H559H7334H7334H188H898H898H898H899H898 17Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth.H6343H6354H6341H3427H776 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.H5127H6963H6343H5307H6354H5927H8432H6354H3920H6341H699H4791H6605H4146H776H7493 19The earth has broken up. It has utterly collapsed; it is violently shaken.H776H7489H7489H776H6565H6565H776H4131H4131 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.H776H5128H5128H7910H5110H4412H6588H3513H5307H6965H3254 21In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.H3117H3068H6485H6635H4791H4791H4428H127H127 22They will be rounded up and put in prison. They will be shut up in prison and will finally be punished.H622H616H626H953H5462H4525H7230H3117H6485 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.H3842H2659H2535H954H3068H6635H4427H2022H6726H3389H2205H3519