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Isaiah 24

KJV · Chapter 24/66

1Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

2And 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 the giver of usury to him.

3The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

4The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

5The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

6Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

7The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

8The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

9They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

10The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.

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

12In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

13When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

14They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

15Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.

16From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

17Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

18And 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 from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

19The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

20The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

21And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22And 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.

23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Isaiah describes a cosmic, universal judgment: the whole earth will be emptied and laid waste because of human corruption, which 'broke the everlasting covenant.' Despite the total desolation, a group of faithful people will continue praising God from the ends of the earth.

Explanation

This chapter begins a section scholars know as the 'Isaiah Apocalypse' (chapters 24-27), with language more universal and cosmic than the specific prophecies against nations in the previous chapters. The idea of a broken 'everlasting covenant' probably refers to the basic moral laws given to humanity (as in Genesis 9, with Noah), suggesting that moral corruption affects all creation, not just one nation. The image of 'the windows from on high' opening and the earth 'reeling like a drunkard' uses language of total chaos, reflecting how sin destabilizes even the natural order. The application for today is recognizing that a society's moral choices have consequences that go beyond the individual, affecting the whole community and even creation itself.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'everlasting covenant' (v.5) probably refers back to God's covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:16, the oldest and most universal divine commitment recorded with all of humanity, not just Israel.
  • Scholars call chapters 24 through 27 the 'Little Apocalypse of Isaiah' for their visionary, universal style, similar to what would later appear in Daniel and Revelation.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 24:1Unlike the previous chapters, which targeted specific nations, this chapter speaks of a judgment on the whole earth. That is why it is often called Isaiah’s little apocalypse, looking beyond any one particular empire.
  2. Isaiah 24:2The coming destruction will spare no one because of social status: priest and people, servant and master, buyer and seller, lender and borrower — all will suffer the same fate equally.
  3. Isaiah 24:3Confirms that the earth will be completely emptied and plundered, and that this is not just any threat, but a word the LORD Himself has spoken.
  4. Isaiah 24:4The whole earth is described as mourning and withering away, and even the most important among the people lose their strength — the devastation reaches both the environment and the highest-status people.
  5. Isaiah 24:5Saying that the people have broken the “everlasting covenant” is a serious accusation: breaking not just specific laws, but the very pact understood as the foundation of world order. The text does not specify exactly which covenant, and this is still debated among scholars today.
  6. Isaiah 24:6As a result of the moral corruption described in the previous verse, a curse consumes the earth, its inhabitants suffer, many are burned, and only a small group survives.
  7. Isaiah 24:7New wine, a symbol of feasting and abundance, loses its joy, and everyone who used to be cheerful now sighs with sadness.
  8. Isaiah 24:8All music and celebration cease: tambourines silenced, festivities ended, harps stopped — the complete opposite of a society at play.
  9. Isaiah 24:9Even drinking wine loses its charm, with no more songs to go along with it, and strong drink turns bitter to those who drink it — the natural joy of drinking turns into something unpleasant.
  10. Isaiah 24:10The city, once bustling, appears demolished and empty, with every house shut up and no one able to enter anymore.
  11. Isaiah 24:11In the streets, there is only crying over the lack of wine, and all joy has disappeared from the land — the economic and social devastation reaches even the simplest everyday pleasures.
  12. Isaiah 24:12Only desolation remains in the city, and even the gates are smashed to pieces — an image of complete structural abandonment.
  13. Isaiah 24:13Compares what is left of the population to olives left over after the tree is shaken, or grapes forgotten after the harvest — a very small remnant scattered among the peoples.
  14. Isaiah 24:14But even this small remnant will lift up their voice in joy, singing for the majesty of the LORD from the sea — an unexpected turn of hope in the middle of devastation.
  15. Isaiah 24:15Continues the call: let God be glorified both in the valleys and in the farthest islands of the sea, reaching every corner of the earth.
  16. Isaiah 24:16From distant corners come songs of praise to the Righteous One, but the prophet himself interrupts with a personal lament: he feels himself wasting away, because treachery continues among the treacherous, even in the midst of this hope.
  17. Isaiah 24:17Describes the inevitable fate of those who live on the earth: terror, the pit, and the snare will overtake them, like a triple trap that no one easily escapes.
  18. Isaiah 24:18Whoever flees from one danger will fall straight into another — from terror to the pit, from the pit to the snare — because even the floodgates of heaven open and the foundations of the earth shake, reinforcing the total cosmic judgment.
  19. Isaiah 24:19The earth is described as being utterly broken, split apart, and shaken — three different verbs reinforcing the same idea of total destruction.
  20. Isaiah 24:20The earth staggers like a drunk and sways like a hut in the wind — an image of total instability, unable to stand under the weight of its own sin, falling to never rise again.
  21. Isaiah 24:21The “host of the high ones” alongside the kings of the earth combine powers the ancients saw as heavenly with human powers in the same judgment. It is a way of saying that no one escapes, gathered together like ordinary prisoners in a dungeon.
  22. Isaiah 24:22The defeated powers, mentioned in the previous verse, are gathered together like prisoners in a dungeon, shut up, and only after many days will they be “visited” again — a judgment that stretches on before the final resolution.
  23. Isaiah 24:23Ends the chapter with an image of glory so great it outshines even the moon and the sun: when the LORD reigns in Zion and Jerusalem, His glory will be so evident that the very stars seem dim by comparison.

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