1 Look, the LORD is about to empty the earth and make it a waste; he will turn its face upside down and scatter those who live on it.
2 It will be the same for people and priest, for servant and master, for maid and mistress, for buyer and seller, for lender and borrower, for the one who charges interest and the one who pays it.
3 The earth will be completely emptied and completely looted, for the LORD has spoken this word.
4 The earth dries up and wilts; the world fades and wilts; the high and mighty of the earth's people waste away.
5 The earth is defiled by those who live on it, for they have broken the laws, overstepped the statute and violated the everlasting covenant.
6 That is why a curse eats up the earth and its people bear the guilt; that is why the earth's inhabitants are scorched and only a few are left.
7 The new wine dries up, the vine shrivels, and all the light-hearted groan.
8 The cheerful tambourines are silent, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is still.
9 No more do they sing as they drink their wine; strong drink tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of chaos lies broken; every house is barred, and no one goes in.
11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy has turned to gloom, and gladness has been driven from the earth.
12 Only ruin is left in the city, and its gate is smashed to pieces.
13 This is how it will be on the earth and among the peoples: like an olive tree that has been beaten, like the gleanings left when the grape harvest is over.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they cry out about the majesty of the LORD.
15 So glorify the LORD in the east; in the coastlands of the sea, glorify the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs: "Glory to the righteous!" But I say, "I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Traitors betray; traitors betray with treachery."
17 Terror and pit and trap await you, you who live on the earth!
18 Whoever runs from the sound of terror will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The floodgates of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaking.
19 The earth is broken to bits, the earth is torn apart, the earth is shaken to and fro.
20 The earth reels like a drunk, it sways like a shack in the wind; its rebellion weighs it down, and it will fall and never rise again.
21 On that day the LORD will punish the army of heaven in the heavens above and the kings of the earth down on the earth.
22 They will be herded together like prisoners in a pit, locked up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished.
23 The moon will blush and the sun be put to shame, for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.