1
Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3
The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled; for the Lord has spoken this word.
4
The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth.
5
The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
6
Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Revised Standard)
