Chapter 24
24:1 Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof.
24:2 And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest: and as with the servant so with his master: as with the handmaid, so with her mistress: as with the buyer, so with the seller: as with the lender, so with the borrower: as with him that calls for his money, so with him that owes.
24:3 With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled: for the Lord has spoken this word.
24:4 The earth mourned, and faded away, and is weakened: the world faded away, the height of the people of the earth is weakened.
24:5 And the earth is killed by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant.
24:6 Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin: and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad, and few men shall be left.
24:7 The vintage has mourned, the vine has languished away, all the merry have sighed.
24:8 The mirth of timbrels has ceased, the noise of them that rejoice is ended, the melody of the harp is silent.
24:9 They shall not drink wine with a song: the drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
24:10 The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man comes in.
24:11 There shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away.
24:12 Desolation is left in the city, and calamity shall oppress the gates.
24:13 For it shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of the olive tree: or grapes, when the vintage is ended.
24:14 These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise: when the Lord shall be glorified, they shall whinny from the sea.
24:15 Therefore glorify the Lord in instruction: the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea.
24:16 From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the just one. And I said: my secret to myself, my secret to myself, woe is me: the prevaricators have prevaricated, and with the prevarication of transgressors they have prevaricated.
24:17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O you inhabitant of the earth.
24:18 And it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall rid himself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for the flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.
24:19 With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved.
24:20 With shaking shall the earth be shaken as a drunken man, and shall be removed as the tent of one night: and the iniquity thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.
24:21 And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth, on the earth.
24:22 And they shall be gathered together as in the gathering of one bundle into the pit, and they shall be shut up there in prison: and after many days they shall be visited.
24:23 And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be glorified in the sight of his ancients.
565 . Behold the Lord . In this part, he threatens the destruction of the entire earth, either that which was carried out in particular kingdoms and different regions, or that which is to come in the day of judgment, according to what is said above, this is the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth (Isa 14:26); however, some explain this as pertaining to the land of the Jews, or the land of Babylon, or the land of the Idumeans. And it is divided into two parts:
in the first, he threatens against the inhabitants of the land;
in the second, against the rulers of the peoples: and it shall come to pass, that in that day (Isa 24:21).
Concerning the first, he sets out three things:
first, the destruction of men;
second, the removal of joys, where it says: the vintage has mourned (Isa 24:7);
third, a multitude of dangers: the prevaricators (Isa 24:16).
566 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he threatens destruction: the Lord shall strip it , purging it of inhabitants; lay waste , depriving it of those who cultivate it; afflict , with various punishments, the face , that is, inhabitants on its surface; scatter abroad , dividing them into various parts by captivity: I have stripped you bare (Joel 1:7).
567 . Second, the universality of destruction as to those punished, making equal those who differ in rank: as with the people , so with the priest ; in condition: as with the servant so with his master ; in possession of things: as with the buyer, so with the seller : the small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master (Job 3:19). As to the diversity of punishments: with desolation , setting out the loss as to immovable things: the earth shall be laid waste ; as to movable things: it shall be spoiled : with desolation is all the land made desolate (Jer 12:11). As to the downfall of power, the earth mourned, and faded away , using the past tense for the future, that is, it shall fade away, mourning for its weakness; and this is: is weakened , that this may be said as to the common people; but as to the powerful, the world , that is, leaders of the world, faded away , above: I will visit the evils of the world (Isa 13:11). And he sets out the killing of men: and the earth is killed : the land was killed (Ps 105[106]:38).
568 . Third, he shows the equity of the punishment: because they have transgressed , and he does this by comparing it to their fault; hence he does two things.
First, he sets out their fault: they have transgressed the laws , written or natural; the ordinance , of custom; the covenant , of friendship, everlasting , because it is caused by likeness of kind: they have transgressed my covenant, and have violated my law (Hos 8:1); they have polluted the sanctuary, they have acted unjustly against the law (Zeph 3:4).
569 . Second, he threatens a fourfold punishment because of this fault:
first, a divine curse: a curse : the land has mourned by reason of cursing (Jer 23:10);
second, divine desertion: they shall sin , as if the Lord has abandoned them: for this cause, God delivered them up to shameful affections (Rom 1:26); he that is filthy, let him be filthy still (Rev 22:11);
third, they shall be made foolish: therefore they shall be mad : they were turned aside into vanities (Ps 77[78]:57);
fourth, reduction in numbers: few men shall be left : you shall remain few in number (Deut 28:62).
570 . The vintage has mourned . Here he threatens the removal of joys as to the wicked;
and second, he sets out the joys of the good: as if a few olives (Isa 24:13).
Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he sets out the ending of joy which came from three things:
either in the fertility of things, the vintage has mourned , failing, that is, it was the cause of mourning, above: there shall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards (Isa 16:10).
Or in the playing of games: the mirth of timbrels has ceased : the voice of harpers, harping on their harps (Rev 14:2).
Or in the pleasures of feasts: they shall not drink wine with a song , above: the harp, and the lyre, and, the timbrel and the pipe, and wine are in your feasts (Isa 5:12).
571 . Second, he sets out the recompense of sadness: the drink shall be bitter , for in their feasts, they will have sadness, against the pleasures of feasts: I will turn your feasts into mourning (Amos 8:10). The city of vanity is broken down , against the vanity of games, all things are vanity (Ps 38:6[39:5]); vanity of vanities, and all is vanity (Eccl 1:2); the city , of Babylon, any soul. There shall be a crying , of those lamenting over the lack of wine, against fertility: in all vineyards there shall be wailing (Amos 5:17).
572 . Third, he concludes the exchange: all mirth is forsaken , exchanged for sadness: woe to you that laugh: for you shall weep (Luke 6:25); laughter shall be mingled with sorrow (Prov 14:13).
573 . As if . Here he places the joys of the good.
And first, he foretells the praise of those to come, whose salvation he foretells: as if a few ; few will be saved, in relation to the others, above: the fruit thereof that shall be left upon it, shall be as the shaking of the olive tree, two or three berries in the top of a bough (Isa 17:6). And he places their praise: these shall give praise ; they shall whinny , like horses to signify their great joy, below: the voice of your watchmen: they have lifted up their voice, they shall praise together (Isa 52:8).
574 . Second, he introduces praise in the present: therefore .
And first, he places the precept, glorify the Lord in instruction , that is, in teaching others; another translation has: in praises : glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far exceed (Sir 43:32[30]).
Second, he designates the fulfillment of the precept: from the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the just one , that is, Christ, below: behold the Lord has made it to be heard in the ends of the earth (Isa 62:11).
Third, the reward of those who fulfill it: and I said: my secret , of their reward: eye has not seen, nor ear heard: neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love him (1 Cor 2:9); to myself , alone. Woe is me , for I cannot tell of it to others: I heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Cor 12:4). Of the punishments of the damned: woe is me , such great punishments I see; and thus this belongs with the following part.
575 . The prevaricators . Here he threatens a multitude of dangers, and concerning this, he does two things.
First, he denounces the diversity of their sins: prevaricators , by omission, transgressors , by commission, I have accounted all the sinners of the earth prevaricators (Ps 118[119]:119).
Second, he threatens a multitude of dangers.
And first, he sets out this multitude: fear . He speaks in likeness to those who flee pursuers because of fear, above: they shall fall, and shall be broken in pieces (Isa 8:15); a voice of terror (Jer 30:5).
576 . Second, the impossibility of escaping: and it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit : as if to say, he will decide upon Scylla, wanting to avoid Charybdis: that which the palmerworm has left, the bruchus has eaten (Joel 1:4). And he assigns the cause: for tribulation will come to them from both heaven and from earth, and this is the flood-gates , that is, hidden channels through which water flows: the floodgates of heaven were opened (Gen 7:11).
577 . Third, he shows the impossibility of reparation under a threefold similitude, namely,
of divided things, which are not restored: breaking , as to division into large parts, crushing , as to division into small parts: behold the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will crush it from the face of the earth (Amos 9:8);
and through the similitude of shaken things, which are not made stable: with trembling shall the earth be moved , from place to place, shaken , as if trembling in its own place, as a drunken man , above: they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, as a drunken man staggers and vomits (Isa 19:14);
and through the similitude of a traveler’s tent, which is not fixed firmly in the same place: as the tent , below: my generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd’s tent (Isa 38:12). And he assigns the cause: and the iniquity thereof shall be heavy upon it , like a heavy weight, so that it does not rise again: what is heavier than lead? (Sir 22:7[14]); sin sits on a talent (Zech 5:7); my iniquities are as a heavy burden are become heavy upon me (Ps 37:5[38:4]).
578 . And it shall come to pass . Here he threatens against the rulers of the people; and concerning this he sets out three things.
First, he sets out their punishment: in that day , of judgment; the Lord shall visit upon the host of heaven on high , that is, the demons, and upon the kings of the earth , these same demons: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31); or also the wicked kings: and they shall be gathered together , at the same time in hell: which was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41); as in the gathering of one bundle : bind it into bundles to burn (Matt 13:30), that they may be alike in punishment who were alike in sin: I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together (Rev 19:19). Or, in that day , namely, the day of the destruction of particular kingdoms; the host of heaven on high , the idols, namely, of the sun and moon and the other stars: he adored all the host of heaven (2 Kgs 21:3); and they shall be gathered together , through destruction, below: all the host of the heavens shall pine away (Isa 34:4).
579 . Second, he designates the measure of the punishment as to time: and after many days they shall be visited , for after however much time of torment, they shall be punished in eternity: go, you cursed, into everlasting fire (Matt 25:41); or in the day of judgment, that, when the judgment has been executed, they might return to hell immediately; or, according to another interpretation: they shall be consoled, for after the storm, he makes a calm for all (Tob 3:22).
580 . Third, the glory of him who punishes,
and first, of the judge: and the moon shall blush , that is, its splendor shall be thought nothing in comparison to the splendor of the body of Christ: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood: before the great and dreadful day of the Lord doth come (Joel 2:31); or, the worshippers of the sun and moon.
Second, of the judge’s assessors: when the Lord of hosts shall reign . . . and shall be glorified in the sight of his ancients , above: the Lord will enter into judgment with the senators (Isa 3:14).
581 . Note on the words, the drink shall be bitter (Isa 24:9), that the drink of sin is bitter:
first, because of the remorse of conscience: her end is bitter (Prov 5:4);
second, because of the fear of death: O death, how bitter is the remembrance of you (Sir 41:1);
third, because of the lack of divine sweetness: know you, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for you, to have left the Lord your God (Jer 2:19);
fourth, because of the mourning of penance, below: I will recount to you all my years in the bitterness of my soul (Isa 38:15).
582 . Note on the word, secret (Isa 24:16), that the mighty works of God are secret:
first, because of their greatness: all men take not this word (Matt 19:11); if I have spoken to you earthly things, and you believe not: how will you believe, if I shall speak to you heavenly things? (John 3:12);
second, because of their dignity: to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 13:11), but to others, in parables;
third, because of the unsuitableness of others: give not that which is holy to dogs (Matt 7:6).
583 . Note on the words, and it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall visit (Isa 24:21), that the visitation of the Lord is manifold:
first, of condemnation: in the time of their visitation they shall fall (Jer 8:12);
second, of correction: I will visit their iniquities with a rod (Ps 88:33[89:32]);
third, of consolation: the Orient from on high has visited us (Luke 1:78).