Isaiah24
New International Version
1See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
2it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
3The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.
4The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth.
5The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
6Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
7The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.
8The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.
9No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.
11In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
13So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
17Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth.
18Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
19The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
20The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 24.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The desolation of the land. (1-12). A few shall be preserved. (13-15). God's kingdom advanced by his judgments. (16-23).
vv1-12
All whose treasures and happiness are laid up on earth, will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to ourselves what the Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of spirit which attend all things here below. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth is become quite different to man, from what it was when God first made it to be his habitation. It is, at the best, like a flower, which withers in the hands of those that please themselves with it, and lay it in their bosoms. The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a vale of tears; the children of men in it are but of few days, and full of trouble, See the power of God's curse, how it makes all empty, and lays waste all ranks and conditions. Sin brings these calamities upon the earth; it is polluted by the sins of men, therefore it is made desolate by God's judgments. Carnal joy will soon be at end, and the end of it is heaviness. God has many ways to imbitter wine and strong drink to those who love them; distemper of body, anguish of mind, and the ruin of the estate, will make strong drink bitter, and the delights of sense tasteless. Let men learn to mourn for sin, and rejoice in God; then no man, no event, can take their joy from them.
vv13-15
There shall be a remnant preserved from the general ruin, and it shall be a devout and pious remnant. These few are dispersed; like the gleanings of the olive tree, hid under the leaves. The Lord knows those that are his; the world does not. When the mirth of carnal worldlings ceases, the joy of the saints is as lively as ever, because the covenant of grace, the fountain of their comforts, and the foundation of their hopes, never fails. Those who rejoice in the Lord can rejoice in tribulation, and by faith may triumph when all about them are in tears. They encourage their fellow-sufferers to do likewise, even those who are in the furnace of affliction. Or, in the valleys, low, dark, miry places. In every fire, even the hottest, in every place, even the remotest, let us keep up our good thoughts of God. If none of these trials move us, then we glorify the Lord in the fires.
vv16-23
Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain, that evil pursues sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace, as in a castle; but it shall be removed like a cottage, like a lodge put up for the night. It shall fall and not rise again; but there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which shall dwell nothing but righteousness. Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, under which it groans now, and will sink at last. The high ones, that are puffed up with their grandeur, that think themselves out of the reach of danger, God will visit for their pride and cruelty. Let us judge nothing before the time, though some shall be visited. None in this world should be secure, though their condition be ever so prosperous; nor need any despair, though their condition be ever so deplorable. God will be glorified in all this. But the mystery of Providence is not yet finished. The ruin of the Redeemer's enemies must make way for his kingdom, and then the Sun of Righteousness will appear in full glory. Happy are those who take warning by the sentence against others; every impenitent sinner will sink under his transgression, and rise no more, while believers enjoy everlasting bliss.
Key Words
הִנֵּה: lo!
בָּקַק: to pour out, i.e. to empty, figuratively, to depopulate; by analogy, to spread out (as a fruitful vine)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
בָּלַק: to annihilate
עָוָה: to crook, literally or figuratively
פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
פּוּץ: to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively (especially to disperse)
יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
עַם: a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
Cross References
Isaiah 24Jeremiah uses the exact same proverbial sequence: 'Fear, and the pit, and the snare.'
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel similarly describes universal societal dissolution where buyer and seller share the same fate.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Poole links this to the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28 that devour the land.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The phrase 'windows from on high are open' directly echoes the language of Noah's flood.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The land is defiled/polluted by the blood of its inhabitants, drawing from the Torah's warning.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
John in Revelation echoes Isaiah's language concerning the cessation of harp, flute, and voice.
Supported by JFB
Employs the identical agricultural metaphor of remnant shaking of an olive tree.
Supported by JFB
Praising the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to the west.
Supported by JFB
Amos shares the proverbial idea of escaping one danger only to fall into another.
Supported by JFB
Parallel usage where 'world' refers to a specific proud kingdom, like Babylon.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The moral defilement of the land causing it to vomit out its inhabitants.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Joel matches Isaiah's description of mourning new wine and languishing vines.
Supported by JFB
Isaiah elsewhere condemns those seeking strong drink, which here turns bitter to them.
Supported by JFB
Glorifying God 'in the fires' of affliction and trial to test faith.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jeremiah's cosmic vision of the earth broken down, dissolved, and ruined by judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Universal judgment showing no distinction of class, from kings to bondmen.
Supported by JFB
Demonstrates how 'world' (oikoumene) is used synecdochically for a specific region.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Refers to the 'everlasting covenant' established with Abraham and his descendants.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The cessation of mirth, tabrets, and the voice of gladness in judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
A highly similar call to the drunkards to weep because the wine is cut off.
Supported by JFB
Refining a remnant through the fire so they will call on His name.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The ultimate reign of the Lord God Omnipotent on His glorious throne.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Poetic description of bones and skin burned internally with dry heat.
Supported by JFB
The house of Israel and Judah dealing very treacherously against the Lord.
Supported by JFB