Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 24:20
20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a hut. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
Isaiah 24:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
- New International Version (NIV)The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again.
Context of Isaiah 24:20
18Whoever flees at the sound of panic will fall into a pit, and whoever escapes from the pit will be caught in a trap. For the floodgates on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. 19The earth is completely devastated; the earth is split open; the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a hut. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again. 21On that day the Lord will punish the army of the heights in the heights and the kings of the ground on the ground. 22They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon; after many days they will be punished.
Read all of Isaiah 24Isaiah 24:20 word by word
נ֣וֹעַ תָּנ֤וּעַ אֶ֙רֶץ֙ כַּשִּׁכּ֔וֹר וְהִֽתְנוֹדְדָ֖ה כַּמְּלוּנָ֑ה וְכָבַ֤ד עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ פִּשְׁעָ֔הּ וְנָפְלָ֖ה וְלֹא־תֹסִ֥יף קֽוּם׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- shall reelנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
- like a drunkardשִׁכֹּרshikkôr shikkôr · drunkenH7910
- and shall be removedנוּדnûd · to wanderH5110
- like a cottageמְלוּנָהmelûnâh · lodgeH4412
- and the transgressionפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
- thereof shall be heavyכָּבֵדkâbad kâbêd · to honor: heavyH3513
- upon it; and it shall fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- and not riseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- againיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
Cross-references for Isaiah 24:20
- Isaiah 19:14The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion. The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
- Isaiah 29:9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer.
- Psalms 107:27they reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and all their skill was useless.
- Isaiah 1:8Daughter Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
- Isaiah 38:12My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; he cuts me off from the loom. By nightfall you make an end of me.
- Isaiah 5:7For the vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant he delighted in. He expected justice but saw injustice; he expected righteousness but heard cries of despair.
- Psalms 38:4For my iniquities have flooded over my head; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.
- Lamentations 1:14My transgressions have been formed into a yoke, fastened together by his hand; they have been placed on my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!
- Matthew 23:35So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
- Jeremiah 8:4“You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says: Do people fall and not get up again? If they turn away, do they not return?
- Jeremiah 25:27“Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.’
- Daniel 11:19He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more.
- Amos 8:14Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, “As your god lives, Dan,” or, “As the way of Beer-sheba lives” — they will fall, never to rise again.
- Zechariah 5:5Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”
- Revelation 18:21Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, In this way, Babylon the great city will be thrown down violently and never be found again.
Commentaries on Isaiah 24:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Like a cottage "Like a lodge for a night" - See note on Isaiah 1:8.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard - This is descriptive of the agitation that occurs in an earthquake when everything is shaken from its foundation, and when trees and towers are shaken by the mighty concussion. The same figure is used in Isaiah 29:9. See also the description of a tempest at sea, in Psalm 107:27: They reel to and fro, And stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wit‘s end. And shall be removed like a cottage - Or rather…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain, that evil pursues sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace, as in a castle; but it shall be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-23Here, the judgments described in Isaiah 13–23 apply to all of creation.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. removed like a cottage--(See on Is 1:8). Here, a hanging couch, suspended from the trees by cords, such as Niebuhr describes the Arab keepers of lands as having, to enable them to keep watch, and at the same time to be secure from wild beasts. Translate, "Shall wave to and fro like a hammock" swung about by the wind. heavy upon it--like an overwhelming burden. not rise again--not meaning, that it never would rise (Is 24:23), but in those convulsions…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 24:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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