The Lord Will Judge the Earth
241Watch, the Lord is going to strip the earth bare and make it desolate.
He will wring it out and scatter its inhabitants.
2It will be the same for people and priest,
for servant and master,
for servant girl and lady,
for buyer and seller,
for lender and borrower,
for creditor and debtor.
3The earth will be stripped bare, totally plundered,
for the Lord has spoken this word.
4The earth mourns and withers.
The world fades and withers away.
The proud people of the earth fade away.
5The earth is polluted by its inhabitants,
because they have bypassed the laws.
They have changed the statutes
and set aside the everlasting covenant.
6Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and those who live there will be found guilty.
That is why the inhabitants of the earth will be burned up,
and so few will remain.
7The new wine mourns.
The vine dries up.
Those who were feeling merry now sigh.
8The happy sound of drums has ceased.
The noise of partying has ended.
The joyful lyre is silent.
9They will drink no wine with their songs anymore.
Beer[] is bitter to those who drink it. 10The city is in chaos and ruins.
Every house is closed up,
and no one can get in.
11They cry for wine in the streets,
but all festive joy is gone.
Joyful celebration is banished from the land.
12The city is left desolate,
and the gate is smashed into pieces.
13This is the way it will be among the peoples on earth:
It will be like an olive tree after it has been picked over,
like the gleanings left after the grape harvest.
