Judgment on the Whole Earth
Behold, athe Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 aAnd it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
bas with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
cas with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 aThe earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
bfor the Lord has spoken this word.
4 aThe earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and withers;
the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies adefiled
under its inhabitants;
for bthey have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore aa curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants bsuffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
7 aThe wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry‑hearted sigh.
8 aThe mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine awith singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 aThe wasted city is broken down;
bevery house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 aThere is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
ball joy has grown dark;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city;
the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
aas when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.
15 aTherefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 aFrom the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to bthe Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
I waste away. Woe is me!
For cthe traitors have betrayed,
with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”
17 aTerror and the pit and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 aHe who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For bthe windows of heaven are opened,
and cthe foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is split apart,
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth astaggers like a drunken man;
it sways like a hut;
bits transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and athe kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 aThey will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days bthey will be punished.
23 aThen the moon will be confounded
and the sun ashamed,
for bthe Lord of hosts reigns
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.