Isaiah 24 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Look! The Lord will destroy this land. The Lord will completely clean everything from the land. The Lord will force the people to go far away.

² At that time, the common people and the priests will be the same. Slaves and masters will be the same. Women slaves and their women masters will be the same. The buyers and sellers will be the same. The people that borrow and the people that lend will be the same. The bankers and the people that owe the bank will be the same.

³ All the people will be forced out of the land. The wealth will all be taken. This will happen because the Lord commanded it.

⁴ The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.

⁵ The people on the land have made the land dirty. \{How did this happen\}? The people did wrong things against God’s teaching. The people did not obey God’s laws. The people made an agreement with God a long time ago, but those people broke their agreement with God.

⁶ The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong. So God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished. Only a few people will survive.

⁷ The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. In the past, people were happy. But now those people are sad.

⁸ People have stopped showing their joy. All the happy sounds have stopped. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended.

⁹ People don’t sing happy songs while they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to the person drinking it.

¹⁰ “Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People can’t enter the houses. The doors are blocked.

¹¹ People still ask for wine in the market places. But all the happiness is gone. Joy has been carried far away.

¹² Only destruction is left for the city. Even the gates are crushed.

¹³ At harvest time, people knock olives\par from olive trees.\par But, a few olives are left in the trees.\par It will be like that in this land\par among the nations.\par

¹⁴ The people that are left will\par begin shouting.\par They will be louder than the noise\par from the ocean.\par They will be happy because of\par the Lord’s greatness.\par

¹⁵ Those people will say,\par “People in the east, praise the Lord!\par People in faraway lands,\par praise the name\par of the Lord God of Israel.”\par

¹⁶ We will hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth.\par These songs will praise the Good God.\par But I say;\par “Enough! I have had enough!\par The things I see are terrible.\par Traitors {\cf2\super [232]} are turning against people\par and hurting them.\par

¹⁷ \{I see danger for the people living\par in this land.\par I see\} fear, holes, and traps for them.\par

¹⁸ People will hear about danger\par and they will be scared.\par Some of the people will run away.\par But they will fall into holes\par and be trapped.\par Some of those people\par will climb out of the holes,\par but they will be caught in another trap.”\par The flood gates in the sky above will open,\par \{and the floods will begin\}.\par The foundations of the earth will shake.\par

¹⁹ There will be earthquakes.\par And the earth will split open.\par

²⁰ The sins of the world are very heavy.\par So the earth will fall under that weight.\par The earth will shake like an old house.\par The earth will fall like a drunk person.\par The earth will not be able to continue.\par

²¹ At that time, the Lord will judge\par the heavenly armies in heaven\par and the earthly kings on earth.\par

²² Many people will be gathered together.\par Some of them have been locked in the Pit.\par Some of them have been in prison. {\cf2\super [233]} \par But finally, after much time,\par they will be judged.\par

²³ The Lord will rule as king\par on Mount Zion {\cf2\super [234]} in Jerusalem.\par His Glory {\cf2\super [235]} will be before the elders. {\cf2\super [236]} \par \{His Glory will be so bright that\}\par the moon will be embarrassed,\par the sun will be ashamed.\par