Chapter Twenty-Four

1–6. The laying waste of the earth and the punishment of its inhabitants for their wickedness. 7–13. The disappearance of all joy from the earth. 14–18a. The righteous – saved, the guilty – punished. 18–20. The shaking of the earth. 21–23. The punishment of the kings of the earth and the reign of the Almighty.

Isa 24:1-6. The prophet sees how the Lord lays waste the earth and executes His righteous judgment over all people without distinction, because the people inhabiting the earth have transgressed the divine commandments placed in their hearts and have defiled themselves with all sins.

Isaiah 24:1. Behold, the Lord lays waste the earth and makes it desolate; he disfigures its surface and scatters its inhabitants. Since the prophet had the future of the earth revealed to him in a vision, it is clear that his prophecy could not have strict sequence in depicting the different moments of the future judgment over the earth, nor is it evident from it when this judgment will begin, how and by whom it will be executed. It is only clear that this prophecy concerns the last times of the world and begins a series of prophecies about these times, which (the prophecies) end with chapter 27. “Makes it desolate” – more correctly, lays waste, devastates. “Its surface,” that is, all the cities, fortifications, etc. existing on it.

Isaiah 24:2. What happens to the people will happen to the priest; what to the servant will happen to his master; what to the maidservant will happen to her mistress; what to the buyer will happen to the seller; what to the borrower will happen to the lender; what to the debtor will happen to him who lends. Despite differences in social standing, all people will be subjected to punishment from God.

Isaiah 24:3. The earth shall be utterly emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. Isaiah 24:4. The earth mourns and withers, the world languishes and withers; the lofty people of the earth languish. “Spoke this word” – that is, so he determined, commanded. “The lofty people of the earth” – perhaps more correctly, after Condamin – heaven together with earth will perish!

Isaiah 24:5. And the earth is defiled by those who dwell in it, for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. “Transgressed the laws,” that is, the precepts given to all mankind (Gen 9 and following) and the voice of one’s own conscience (Rom 2:14).

Isaiah 24:6. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and those who dwell in it bear the punishment; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few people are left. “The curse devours,” that is, God’s wrath acts like an all-consuming fire. “Therefore the inhabitants are burned” – perhaps more correctly, after Condamin – are destroyed. Isa 24:7-13. All joy on earth has ceased, and the few people remaining, upon seeing their devastated cities, can only weep. The grapes, from which excellent wine can be made, are wasted – no one wants to engage in this work anymore!

Isaiah 24:7. The juice of the grapes mourns, the vine languishes; all whose hearts were glad sigh. Isaiah 24:8. The mirth of the timbrels ceases, the noise of the revelers ends, the sound of the harp is silent; Isaiah 24:9. no longer do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. “The juice of the grapes mourns,” that is, the ripened grapes drop off, fall to the ground, and the juice flows over the earth. “Languishes,” that is, perishes.

Isaiah 24:10. The city lies in desolation; every house is shut up, there is none to enter. “City” – a general designation instead of: cities. The prophet, however, seems to be depicting, first of all, the situation in Palestine.

Isaiah 24:11. They cry out for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened; all the gladness of the land is gone away. Isaiah 24:12. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten into ruins. Isaiah 24:13. For in the midst of the earth, among the peoples, it will be like the shaking when olives are beaten, like the gathering when the grape harvest is done. “In the streets” – according to the translation of Orelli, in the fields. “The gladness of the land” – possibly more accurately: gladness from the land. 24 “Like the shaking of olives.” The trees, deprived of their fruits, serve as a symbol of the disappearance of the earth’s inhabitants (cf. Isa 17 and following).

Isaiah 24:14. They will raise their voice, they will shout in the majesty of the Lord, they will cry aloud from the sea. A choir of the saved on the sea and islands, who will see from afar this picture of the laying waste of the earth, will praise God for His righteous judgment over the wicked people, for whom there will be no salvation. “They” – this, in all likelihood, refers to righteous persons, who will be witnesses to the judgment over sinners (cf. Rev 22:11-12). “From the sea.” – The prophet, of course, first of all thinks of the laying waste of Palestine and imagines the righteous as being outside the zone of earth that is being laid waste.

Isaiah 24:15. Therefore glorify the Lord in the east, on the islands of the sea – the name of the Lord, God of Israel. Isaiah 24:16. From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the Righteous!” But I said: Woe is me, woe is me! Oh, that the treacherous were treacherous, the treacherous dealt treacherously! “Glory to the Righteous.” Here the prophet probably means by the Righteous those righteous persons who will be granted the highest glorification by God. Of course, the prophet considered the righteous to be first of all the chosen Israelites, as is evident from the fact that he calls them to glorify the God of Israel. Our Synodal translation by the Righteous apparently understands either the Almighty or Christ, as the Righteous Judge. “And I said.” From the sight of the saved righteous ones, the prophet again turns his sorrowful gaze to the iniquities of people, who are unwilling to cease from their lawless deeds.

Isaiah 24:17. Terror and pit and snare are upon you, inhabitant of the earth! Isaiah 24:18. And whoever flees from the sound of terror shall fall into the pit; and whoever climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The judgment of God, depicted here by the prophet, follows the bowls of God’s wrath depicted in the Apocalypse (ch. 16). “Snare,” that is, a trap, which was used on the East for catching birds and beasts. Isa 24:18-20. The prophet depicts the flood which will destroy the earth, and the shaking of the earth by terrible earthquakes.

Isaiah 24:18. And whoever flees from the sound of terror shall fall into the pit; and whoever climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. Genesis 7:11. “The windows... of heaven” – see Gen.7:11. “The foundations of the earth.” – The earth seemed to the Hebrews to stand on foundations or pillars (cf. 1 Sam 2:8).

Isaiah 24:19. The earth reels, the earth splits apart, the earth is violently shaken; Isaiah 24:20. the earth staggers like a drunkard, it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, never to rise again. “Like a hut,” that is, a child’s cradle or a hanging bed for an adult, which on the East is sometimes hung from a tree branch. “Shall fall” – an expression of imagery. Isa 24:21-23. The judgment of God, having begun with the heavenly hosts, will come down with full force on the earthly rulers, who will be subjected to imprisonment and punishment, while the Lord Himself will reign on Zion.

Isaiah 24:21. And it shall come to pass in that day: the Lord will visit the host of heaven on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. “Will visit,” that is, will judge. “The host of heaven,” that is, a) the highest heavenly luminaries, and b) the spirits or Angels that, according to the belief of the ancients, animated and moved these luminaries; (“Highest” – in Hebrew maram, the same as heaven in Hebrew schamaim). These Angels at the same time were the invisible protectors of individual kingdoms and intercessors for them before God (Dan 10).

Isaiah 24:22. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners in a dungeon, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be punished. “A dungeon.” The dungeon in the East, for example, in Persia, often even now serves as a simple pit dug in the earth, covered with an iron lid. Here, of course, we must understand the underworld (Rev 19 and Rev 20 ch.)

Revelation 20:7–10. “After many days.” From Rev.20:7–10 it is evident that Satan and his Angels will be released from the abyss for a certain time, and then they will be summoned again for the final, ultimate judgment. Isaiah 24:23. And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be put to shame, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his elders will be glory. The sun and moon, to which in antiquity divine honor was paid, must shamefully yield their place on earth to the true God and Ruler of the world. “Zion and... Jerusalem” here refer to the new ones, of which the Apocalypse speaks (Rev 21:2). “Before his elders.” The prophet here recalls the elders of Israel, who saw the glory of the Lord on Sinai (Exod 24:9 and following). The apostle John the Theologian probably had this passage in mind when he spoke of the twenty-four elders sitting on twenty-four thrones around the throne of God (Rev 4:4). * * * Notes In the Slavonic translation of the LXX – “Weep for wine throughout, ceased is all the joy of the entire land, departed is all the gladness of the earth.” Note of the editor.