Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants— | 1Look! The LORD is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. |
2people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. | 2Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. |
3The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word. | 3The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The LORD has spoken! |
4The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away. | 4The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. |
5The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant. | 5The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. |
6Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive. | 6Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive. |
7The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan. | 7The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. |
8The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent. | 8The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. |
9They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it. | 9Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. |
10The city of chaos is shattered; every house is closed to entry. | 10The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. |
11In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land. | 11Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. |
12The city is left in ruins; its gate is reduced to rubble. | 12The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down. |
13So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest. | 13Throughout the earth the story is the same— only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest. |
14They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD. | 14But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the west praise the LORD’s majesty. |
15Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea. | 15In eastern lands, give glory to the LORD. In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. |
16From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery. | 16We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. Weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails, and treachery is everywhere. |
17Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth. | 17Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth. |
18Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. | 18Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens; the foundations of the earth shake. |
19The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently. | 19The earth has broken up. It has utterly collapsed; it is violently shaken. |
20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again. | 20The earth staggers like a drunk. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy. |
21In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below. | 21In that day the LORD will punish the gods in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. |
22They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days. | 22They will be rounded up and put in prison. They will be shut up in prison and will finally be punished. |
23The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory. | 23Then the glory of the moon will wane, and the brightness of the sun will fade, for the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion. He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of his people. |
|