New Living Translation
Isaiah 24:20
20The earth staggers like a drunk. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.
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
18Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens; the foundations of the earth shake. 19The earth has broken up. It has utterly collapsed; it is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunk. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy. 21In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. 22They will be rounded up and put in prison. They will be shut up in prison and will finally 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 sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause Egypt to stagger like a drunk in his vomit.
- Isaiah 29:9Are you amazed and incredulous? Don’t you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor!
- Psalms 107:27They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.
- Isaiah 1:8Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.
- Isaiah 38:12My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over.
- Isaiah 5:7The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.
- Psalms 38:4My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.
- Lamentations 1:14“He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands.
- Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
- Matthew 23:35As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.
- Jeremiah 8:4“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back?
- Jeremiah 25:27Then the Lord said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’
- Daniel 11:19He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.
- Amos 8:14And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria— who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba— they will all fall down, never to rise again.”
- Zechariah 5:5Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.”
- Revelation 18:21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will 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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