Yahweh Will Empty the Earth
Behold, Yahweh aempties the earth to destruction, eviscerates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the male slave like his master, the female slave like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the acreditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely emptied to destruction and completely plundered, for Yahweh has spoken this word. 4 The aearth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the bexalted of the people of the earth languish. 5 The earth is also apolluted by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, bbroke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a acurse devours the earth, and those who inhabit it are held guilty. Therefore, the binhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men remain.
7 The anew wine mourns;
The vine languishes;
All the glad of heart sigh.
8 The ajoy of tambourines ceases;
The rumbling of those exulting stops;
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They do not drink wine with song;
aStrong drink is bbitter to those who drink it.
10 The acity of chaos is broken down;
bEvery house is shut up so that none may enter.
11 There is an aoutcry in the streets concerning the wine;
bAll gladness turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is taken away into exile.
12 Desolation remains in the city,
And the agate is struck down to ruins.
13 For athus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 aThey lift up their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of Yahweh.
15 Therefore aglorify Yahweh in the east,
The bname of Yahweh, the God of Israel,
In the ccoastlands of the sea.
16 From the aends of the earth we hear songs, “bGlory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “cI waste away! I waste away! Woe is me!
The dtreacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 aPanic and pit and pitfall
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that he who flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit,
And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the pitfall;
For the awindows above are opened, and the bfoundations of the earth quake.
19 aThe earth is broken asunder;
The earth is bsplit through;
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth areels to and fro like a drunkard
And it totters like a shack,
For its btransgression is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, cnever to rise again.
21 So it will be in that day,
That Yahweh will apunish the host of heights on high,
And the bkings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like aprisoners in the pit,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will bbe punished.
23 Then the amoon will be humiliated and the sun ashamed,
For bYahweh of hosts will reign on cMount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.