English · ASV

Isaiah 24

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

The Lord's Universal Judgment 1–6

1
Behold, Jehovah 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 creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him. ​
3
The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
4
The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the lofty people of the earth do languish.
5
The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. ​
6
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. ​

The End of Joy and Celebration 7–12

7
The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted 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 waste city is broken down; every house is shut up, that no man may come in. ​
11
There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; 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.

A Remnant Praises the Lord 13–16

13
For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done. ​
14
These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea.
15
Wherefore glorify ye Jehovah in the east, even the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea. ​
16
From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously. ​

Inescapable Terror and Cosmic Collapse 17–20

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 on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. ​
19
The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently.
20
The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. ​

The LORD Judges All Powers 21–23

21
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones 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; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 24

Verse 1

maketh the earth empty — Baqaq, to empty, and balaq, to lay waste, differ by one letter and sound alike. 'Turneth it upside down' is literally 'twists its face' (avah, to make crooked, with panim, face). 'Scattereth abroad' is the verb of Babel (Gen 11:8), and the emptied land recalls Isa 6:11.

Verse 2

as with the people, so with the priest — Six pairs set every rank and trade side by side: people and priest, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, taker and giver of usury. None is excepted; 'like people, like priest' is Hosea's line (Hos 4:9). 'Lender' and 'borrower' are the same verb, lavah.

Verse 5

broken the everlasting covenant — The reach is the whole 'earth' (erets), and the wording matches the 'everlasting covenant between God and every living creature… that is upon the earth' (Gen 9:16). 'Defiled' is chanef, the word for blood polluting a land (Num 35:33); 'laws' is torah, 'ordinance' choq.

Verse 6

hath the curse devoured the earth — 'Curse' is alah, the oath-curse that belongs to a covenant, as in Deut 29:12, 20 ('his oath'; 'all the curses that are written in this book'). 'Are desolate' is asham, to bear guilt: the dwellers are held guilty. 'Few men left' prepares the remnant of v.13.

Verse 10

The city of confusion — Qiryat-tohu, 'city of emptiness'. Tohu is the 'without form' of Gen 1:2 and the 'line of confusion' stretched over Edom's ruin in Isa 34:11. The city is not named; its houses are 'shut up, that no man may come in'. Revelation 18:2 announces the fall of Babylon the great.

Verse 13

the shaking of an olive tree — Noqeph is the beating of the olive boughs at harvest, after which the law left what remained for 'the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow' (Deut 24:20). What is left after the vintage is the remnant, as in Isa 17:6, 'two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough'.

Verse 15

glorify ye the LORD in the fires — Ur is flame, and in the plural it also names the east, the region of light. The praise reaches 'the isles of the sea', the coastlands, as in Isa 42:10–12, 'declare his praise in the islands'. The 'name of the LORD God of Israel' is honoured far beyond Israel.

Verse 16

My leanness, my leanness — Razi, thinness or wasting, found only here. It interrupts the songs heard 'from the uttermost part of the earth' (kanaph, literally 'wing' or edge, as in 'the four corners of the earth', Isa 11:12). Bagad, to deal treacherously, is used four times in the verse, with beged added in 'very treacherously'.

Verse 18

the windows from on high are open — v.17 states the triad, 'Fear, and the pit, and the snare', and v.18 shows each escape leading into the next, as Jer 48:44 says of Moab. 'Windows' (arubbah) is the word of Gen 7:11, 'the windows of heaven were opened', and the shaking 'foundations of the earth' answer the same opening from above.

Verse 20

reel to and fro like a drunkard — Nua is the 'stagger' of Ps 107:27, 'reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man'. 'Cottage' is melunah, a lodge or hut, found only here and in Isa 1:8. The 'transgression' (pesha, rebellion) that is 'heavy upon it' is the guilt already named in vv.5–6.

Verse 21

the host of the high ones that are on high — The verse sets the powers above beside 'the kings of the earth upon the earth'; 'high' (marom) is used twice in the phrase. 'Punish' is paqad, to visit, the verb of v.22. Paul names 'spiritual wickedness in high places' (Eph 6:12), and Peter speaks of angels 'reserved unto judgment' (2 Pet 2:4).

Verse 22

after many days shall they be visited — Paqad, the verb of v.21 ('punish'), is here 'visited'. The prisoners are gathered 'in the pit' and 'shut up in the prison' first, and the visit comes 'after many days'. Peter and Jude likewise speak of angels held in chains until the judgment (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6).

Verse 23

the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed — The names are levanah, 'the white one', and chammah, 'the hot one', as paired in Song 6:10. Their shame is that the LORD of hosts reigns 'in mount Zion'; compare Rev 21:23, 'no need of the sun, neither of the moon'. 'Before his ancients' recalls the elders who 'saw the God of Israel' (Ex 24:9–10).