24:1 Lo, the LORD empties the land and lays it waste; he turns it upside down, scattering its inhabitants:
24:2 Layman and priest alike, servant and master, The maid as her mistress, the buyer as the seller, The lender as the borrower, the creditor as the debtor.
24:3 The earth is utterly laid waste, utterly stripped, for the LORD has decreed this thing.
24:4 The earth mourns and fades, the world languishes and fades; both heaven and earth languish.
24:5 The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, who have transgressed laws, violated statutes, broken the ancient covenant.
24:6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants pay for their guilt; Therefore they who dwell on earth turn pale, and few men are left.
24:7 The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted groan.
24:8 Stilled are the cheerful timbrels, ended the shouts of the jubilant, stilled is the cheerful harp.
24:9 They cannot sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who partake of it.
24:10 Broken down is the city of chaos, shut against entry, every house.
24:11 In the streets they cry out for lack of wine; all joy has disappeared and cheer has left the land.
24:12 In the city nothing remains but ruin; its gates are battered and desolate.
24:13 Thus it is within the land, and among the peoples, As with an olive tree after it is beaten, as with a gleaning when the vintage is done.
24:14 These lift up their voice in acclaim; from the sea they proclaim the majesty of the LORD:
24:15 "For this, in the coastlands, give glory to the LORD! In the coastlands of the sea, to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel!"
24:16 From the end of the earth we hear songs: "Splendor to the Just One!" But I said, "I am wasted, wasted away. Woe is me! The traitors betray: with treachery have the traitors betrayed!
24:17 Terror, pit, and trap are upon you, inhabitant of the earth;
24:18 He who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit; He who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. For the windows on high will be opened and the foundations of the earth will shake.
24:19 The earth will burst asunder, the earth will be shaken apart, the earth will be convulsed.
24:20 The earth will reel like a drunkard, and it will sway like a hut; Its rebellion will weigh it down, until it falls, never to rise again."
24:21 On that day the LORD will punish the host of the heavens in the heavens, and the kings of the earth on the earth.
24:22 They will be gathered together like prisoners into a pit; They will be shut up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished.
24:23 Then the moon will blush and the sun grow pale, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious in the sight of his elders.