The Lord Will Judge the Earth

1Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth

and leave it in ruins;

he will mar its surface

and scatter its inhabitants.

2Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people,

the master as well as the servant,

the elegant lady as well as the female attendant,

the seller as well as the buyer,

the borrower as well as the lender,

the creditor as well as the debtor.

3The earth will be completely devastated

and thoroughly ransacked.

For the Lord has decreed this judgment.

4The earth dries up and withers,

the world shrivels up and withers;

the prominent people of the earth fade away.

5The earth is defiled by its inhabitants,

for they have violated laws,

disregarded the regulation,

and broken the permanent treaty.

6So a treaty curse devours the earth;

its inhabitants pay for their guilt.

This is why the inhabitants of the earth disappear,

and are reduced to just a handful of people.

7The new wine dries up,

the vines shrivel up,

all those who like to celebrate groan.

8The happy sound of the tambourines stops,

the revelry of those who celebrate comes to a halt,

the happy sound of the harp ceases.

9They no longer sing and drink wine;

the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.

10The ruined town is shattered;

all of the houses are shut up tight.

11They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine;

all joy turns to sorrow;

celebrations disappear from the earth.

12The city is left in ruins;

the gate is reduced to rubble.

13This is what will happen throughout the earth,

among the nations.

It will be like when they beat an olive tree,

and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.

14They lift their voices and shout joyfully;

they praise the majesty of the Lord in the west.

15So in the east extol the Lord,

along the seacoasts extol the fame of the Lord God of Israel.

16From the ends of the earth we hear songs –

the Just One is majestic.

But I say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!”

17Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth!

18The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit;

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens are opened up

and the foundations of the earth shake.

19The earth is broken in pieces,

the earth is ripped to shreds,

the earth shakes violently.

20The earth will stagger around like a drunk;

it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm.

Its sin will weigh it down,

and it will fall and never get up again.

The Lord Will Become King

21At that time the Lord will punish

the heavenly forces in the heavens

and the earthly kings on the earth.

22They will be imprisoned in a pit,

locked up in a prison,

and after staying there for a long time, they will be punished.

23The full moon will be covered up,

the bright sun will be darkened;

for the Lord who commands armies will rule

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.