Isaiah 24: The Earth Mourneth
The world emptied, the everlasting covenant broken, and the LORD reigning on Zion
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master… as with the lender, so with the borrower" (24:1–2).
"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth" (vv. 5–6). "The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up… all joy is darkened" (vv. 10–11).
"Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth… for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake… The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard" (vv. 17–20). "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth… Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion" (vv. 21–23).
| Verses | What it says | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 24:1–3 | The earth emptied; all ranks alike: people and priest, master and slave, lender and borrower | Judgment without privilege. |
| 24:4–6 | The earth mourns, defiled by its people: laws broken, the everlasting covenant broken; a curse devours it | Berit olam: perhaps the covenant with Noah and all life (Genesis 9:16). |
| 24:7–9 | New wine mourns; tambourines and lyres silent; strong drink bitter | The end of festival. |
| 24:10–13 | The city of chaos (qiryat tohu) broken; houses shut; a few left like gleanings of olives | Tohu: the formless void of Genesis 1:2. The city is unnamed. |
| 24:14–16a | From the west and the isles, songs: glory to the Righteous One | A premature celebration? |
| 24:16b | But I said: My leanness (razi li), woe to me! The treacherous deal treacherously | Vulgate: Secretum meum mihi, "my secret is mine." |
| 24:17–20 | Terror, pit, snare (pachad, pachat, pach); windows on high opened; earth staggers like a drunkard | A wordplay; Genesis 7:11's flood windows. |
| 24:21–23 | God punishes the host on high and the kings below; imprisoned in a pit, visited after many days; the LORD reigns on Zion before his elders | Elders: Exodus 24:9–11; compare Revelation 4:4. |
The "Isaiah Apocalypse"
Since the 19th century, scholars have called chapters 24–27 the "Isaiah Apocalypse" because they describe world judgment, a heavenly host punished, death swallowed, the dead rising and a cosmic dragon slain. They are not an apocalypse in the later technical sense (no heavenly guide, no visions explained), and many prefer "proto-apocalyptic." Proposed dates range from the 8th century (as Isaiah's own) through the 6th–5th centuries to the Hellenistic period; most scholars place them in the Persian period. The unnamed "city" (24:10; 25:2; 26:5; 27:10) has been identified with Babylon, Nineveh, Samaria, Moab's capital or Jerusalem, or as a symbol of human pride. Neither a single historical city nor a single global disaster can be mapped.
The everlasting covenant
"Broken the everlasting covenant (berit olam)" (24:5). Genesis 9:16 calls God's covenant with Noah and every living creature "the everlasting covenant," and its terms concern bloodshed (9:5–6); Isaiah 26:21 says the earth will disclose its blood. Many scholars therefore read 24:5 of a covenant binding all humanity, not only Israel's Sinai covenant. Others read it of the Mosaic laws ("laws… ordinance"). The earth's pollution by human guilt echoes Numbers 35:33 and Genesis 3:17; 4:11.
Moon and brick
In 24:23 the Hebrew levanah ("the white one," the moon) can also be read lebenah, "brick." The library's Greek reads it so: "the brick will melt and the wall fall" (Giguet: "la brique sera liquéfiée, et le mur croulera"). The Vulgate and Masoretic Text have the moon. A translation difference from the same consonants.
Powers imprisoned
"The host of the high ones… shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit… and after many days shall they be visited" (24:21–22). Later Jewish writings developed the idea of rebellious heavenly beings bound until judgment (1 Enoch 10:4–6, 11–14; 18:12–16), and Revelation 20:1–3 binds Satan in the abyss for a thousand years. These may draw on Isaiah 24 among other sources.
What the evidence shows
- Isaiah 24–27 is often called the "Isaiah Apocalypse."
- Isaiah 24–27 was written in the Persian period. Dates proposed range from the 8th to the 2nd century BC.
- The "everlasting covenant" of 24:5 is the covenant with Noah.
- The library's Greek reads "brick" for "moon" in 24:23. Giguet; C check against Ziegler.
Continue the journey
Echoes Across CivilizationsThe assembly of heavenDid other peoples imagine a council of gods around a supreme god?More from this lesson
Echoes Across Civilizations
Optional: how other ancient peoples told similar stories. Open one to compare, then come back to the lesson.
The assembly of heavenUgaritic · Babylonian
Did other peoples imagine a council of gods around a supreme god?
- Ugaritic: The assembly of El Shared literary world
- Babylonian: The assembly of the gods in Enuma Elish and Atrahasis Shared literary world
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- Genesis 9:8–17; 7:11The everlasting covenant; the windows of heaven.
- The land mourns; "like people, like priest."
- "Fear, and the pit, and the snare" applied to Moab.
- Revelation 4:4; 20:1–3Elders around the throne; the binding of Satan.