24 Listen, Yahweh is about to devastate the world

≈ and about to leave it in ruins.

He’ll twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.

2 Then the priest won’t be any better off than the people,

the master than his slave,

the mistress than her maids,

the seller than the buyer,

the borrower than the lender,

or the creditor than the debtor.

3 The world will be totally devastated and completely plundered.

It’ll be plundered because Yahweh has spoken this message.

4 The land has dried up and everything has withered.

≈ The world has declined and withered.

≈ Its prominent people declined as well.

5 The world has been defiled by its inhabitants

because they’ve broken the laws,

disregarded the decree,

broken the eternal agreement.[fn]

6 That’s why a curse has consumed the world,

and its inhabitants are found guilty.

Therefore earth’s inhabitants will decrease

and only a few will be left.

7 The new wine has dried up—the grapevine has deteriorated.

All the people who were cheery are now groaning.

8 The happy sound of the tambourines ceases.

The loud celebrations stop.

The harp’s cheery music has gone silent.

9 They don’t sing and drink wine any more.

≈ Strong drink now tastes bitter when they drink it.

10 The town is completely disorganised.

≈ All the homes have been boarded up to keep people out.

11 There’s an outcry in the streets about the wine.

Cheeriness has degraded into twilight.

Happiness has departed from the world.

12 Desolation has remained in the city.

The gates will be crushed into ruins.

13 It’ll be like that all over the world—among the nations

like when an olive tree is beaten to shake the fruit off

or like the few left-over grapes when the grape harvest is finished.

14 They’ll start singing with gusto and with happiness.

From the west they’ll shout cheerfully about Yahweh’s greatness.

15 Therefore in the east, praise Yahweh.

On the islands, praise the name of Yisrael’s (Israel’s) god, Yahweh.

16 We’ve heard songs from the end of the earth, ‘Praise to the one who’s always fair and right.’

Then I said, ‘I’m wasting away—losing weight—I won’t end well.

The treacherous have been treacherous,

yes, the treacherous have been treacherously treacherous.’

17 Terror and pit-traps and snare-traps await you,

you inhabitants of the earth.

18 The one who runs away from the sound of terror, will fall into the pit,

and those who get up out of the pits, will be caught in the snare,

because the windows in the high place have been opened,

and the earth’s foundations have been shaken.

19 The earth will be totally shattered.

≈ The earth will be split completely through.

≈ The earth will be violently shaken.

20 The earth staggers around like a drunkard,

and sways like a hut in a gale.

Its sin will weigh it down

→ and it’ll fall—never to rise again.

21 At that time, Yahweh will punish the heavenly army

and the earthly kings on the earth.

22 They’ll be rounded up and imprisoned in a pit.

They’ll be shut up in that prison and after a long time, they’ll be punished.

23 Then the moon will go shy, and the sun will hide in shame,

because Commander-in-chief Yahweh will reign on Mt. Tsiyon (Zion) there in Yerushalem (Jerusalem)

and with splendour in front of his elders.