Wycliffe WYC
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 Lo! the Lord shall destroy the earth, and shall make it naked, and shall torment the face thereof; and he shall scatter abroad the dwellers thereof (and he shall scatter abroad all of its inhabitants).
1
The LORD is going to completely destroy everything on earth. He will twist its surface. He'll scatter those who live on it.
2 And it shall be, as the people, so the priest; as the servant, so his lord; as the handmaid, so the lady of her (as the servantess, so her lady); as a buyer, so he that selleth; as the lender, so he that taketh borrowing; as he that asketh again, so he that oweth.
2
Priests and people alike will suffer. So will masters and their servants. And so will women and their female servants. Sellers and buyers alike will suffer. So will those who borrow and those who lend. And so will those who owe money and those who lend it.
3 By destroying the land shall be destroyed, and shall be made naked by ravishing (and shall be made naked by robbery); for why the Lord spake this word.
3
The earth will be completely destroyed. Everything of value will be taken out of it. That's what the LORD has said.
4 The earth mourned, and floated away, and is made sick; the world floated away, the highness of the people of [the] earth is made sick,
4
The earth will dry up completely. The world will dry up and waste away. The most important people on earth will fade away.
5 and the earth is slain of his dwellers. For they passed (over) [the] laws, changed [the] right, destroyed [the] everlasting bond of peace. (and the earth is defiled by its inhabitants. For they passed over thy laws, changed what was right, and destroyed the covenant.)
5
The earth is polluted by its people. They haven't obeyed the laws of the Lord. They haven't done what he told them to do. They've broken the covenant that will last forever.
6 For this thing, cursing shall devour the earth, and the dwellers thereof shall do sin (and its inhabitants shall do sin); and therefore the lovers thereof shall be (made) mad, and few men shall be left.
6
So the LORD will send a curse on the earth. Its people will pay for what they've done. They will be burned up. Very few of them will be left.
7 [The] Vintage mourned, the vine is sick; all men that were glad in heart wailed. (The wine soured, the vine is sick, or diseased; all who were happy in heart wailed.)
7
The vines and fresh wine will dry up completely. Those who used to have a good time will groan.
8 The joy of tympans ceased, the sound of glad men rested; the sweetness of [the] harp with song was still(ed). (The joy of the drums, or of the tambourines, ceased, the shouts of happy people stopped; the sweetness of the harp was silenced.)
8
The happy sounds of tambourines will be gone. The noise of those who enjoy wild parties will stop. The joyful music of harps will become silent.
9 They shall not drink wine (with a song); a bitter drink shall be to them that shall drink it.
9
People will no longer sing as they drink wine. Beer will taste bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of vanity is all-broken (This city of chaos, or of confusion, is a broken city); each house is closed (up), for no man entereth (in).
10
Destroyed cities will lie empty. People will lock themselves inside their houses.
11 Cry shall be on wine in [the] streets, all gladness is forsaken, the joy of [the] earth is taken away. (A cry for some wine shall be in the streets, all happiness is gone, the joy of the land is taken away.)
11
In the streets people will cry out for wine. All joy will turn into sadness. All happiness will be driven out of the earth.
12 Desolation is left in the city, and wretchedness shall oppress the gates.
12
All of the buildings will be knocked down. Every city gate will be smashed to pieces.
13 For these things shall be in the midst of [the] earth, in the midst of (the) peoples, as if a few fruits of olive trees that be left be shaken off from the olive tree (like when the few fruits that be left on the olive trees be shaken off the trees), and (like the last of the) raisins, when the vintage is ended.
13
That's how it will be on the earth. And that's how it will be among the nations. It will be as when workers knock all but a few olives off the trees. It will be like a vine that has only a few grapes left after the harvest.
14 These men shall raise [up] their voice, and shall praise, when the Lord shall be glorified; they shall show signs of gladness from the sea (they shall shout with joy from the west).
14
Those who are left alive will shout with joy. People from the west will praise the LORD because he is the King.
15 For this thing glorify ye the Lord in teachings; in the isles of the sea glorify ye the name of the Lord God of Israel. (And so glorify ye the Lord in the east; on the islands of the sea glorify ye the name of the Lord God of Israel.)
15
So give glory to him, you who live in the east. Honor the name of the Lord, you who are in the islands of the sea. He is the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of [the] earth we have heard praisings, the glory of the just. And I said, My private to me, my private to me (But I said, Treasons! treasons!). Woe to me, [the] trespassers have trespassed, and have trespassed by [the] trespassing of (the) breakers of the law.
16
From one end of the earth to the other we hear singing. People are saying, "Give glory to the One who always does what is right." But I said, "I feel very bad. I'm getting weaker and weaker. How terrible it is for me! People turn against one another. They can't be trusted. So they turn against each other."
17 Fearedfulness, and a ditch, and a snare on thee, that art a dweller of [the] earth. (Let fearfulness, and a ditch, and a snare be upon thee, who art an inhabitant of the land.)
17
People of the earth, terror, a pit and a trap are waiting for you.
18 And it shall be, he that shall flee from the face of fearedfulness, shall fall into the ditch; and he that shall deliver himself from the ditch, shall be holden of the snare; for why the windows of high things be opened, and the foundaments of [the] earth shall be shaken together. (And it shall be, that he who shall flee from the face of fearfulness, shall fall into the ditch; and he who shall get himself out of the ditch, shall be caught by the snare; for the windows of the high places, or of the heavens, be opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be altogether shaken.)
18
Anyone who runs away from the terror will fall into the pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The LORD will open the windows of the skies. He will flood the land. The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 The earth shall be broken with breaking, the earth shall be defouled with defouling (the earth shall be defiled with defiling), the earth shall be moved with moving,
19
The earth will be broken up. It will split open. It will be shaken to pieces.
20 the earth shall be shaken with shaking, as a drunken man. And it shall be taken away, as the tabernacle of one night (like a tent in the night), and the wickedness thereof shall grieve it; and it shall fall down, and it shall not add, for to rise again.
20
The earth will be unsteady like someone who is drunk. It will sway like a tent in the wind. Its sin will weigh so heavily on it that it will fall. It will never get up again.
21 And it shall be, in that day the Lord shall visit on the knighthood of heaven on high, and on the kings of (the) earth, that be on earth. (And it shall be, on that day the Lord shall punish the host of heaven on high, and the kings of the earth, who be on the earth.)
21
At that time the LORD will punish the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens above. He will also punish the kings on the earth below.
22 And they shall be gathered together in the gathering together of a bundle into the pit, and they shall be closed there in prison; and after many days they shall be visited. (And they shall be gathered together like prisoners be gathered together in a pit, and they shall be enclosed there in prison; and after many days they shall be punished.)
22
They will be brought together like prisoners in chains. They'll be locked up in prison. After many days the LORD will punish them.
23 And the moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be confounded, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in the hill of Zion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be glorified in the sight of his elder men. (And the moon shall be shamed, and the sun shall be shamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be glorified before its elders.)
23
The LORD who rules over all will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. The elders of the city will be there. They will see his glory. His rule will be so glorious that the sun and moon will be too ashamed to shine.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.