Isaiah 24:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins.

NIV: The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.

NASB: Desolation is left in the city And the gate is battered to ruins.

CSB: Only desolation remains in the city; its gate has collapsed in ruins.

NLT: The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.

KJV: In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.

NKJV: In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction.

Isaiah is painting a bleak picture of life for the survivors of the judgment God will hurl against the world in response to our sin (Isaiah 24:1–5). Wine stands in for resources, food, and comforts; the city represents civilization. In the same way, the gates of a city were its primary defense: this refers to the vulnerability and helplessness of these survivors.

What was once bustling with life, song, and luxury experienced a cataclysm, leaving it in ruins. Those who remain do not even have the resources to remove the rubble and begin again (Isaiah 24:6–11). They live surrounded by the destruction of the city while the ruined gates leave the place exposed to the outer world.

Aside from apparent riots over the lack of wine, most people remain locked behind the closed doors of their houses. There are multiple reasons for this isolation, it could be due to safety from violence or from disease or simply because they languish in the torment of life on a nearly lifeless planet. As Isaiah has said in the previous verse, gladness has been banished from the earth (Isaiah 24:11).

Isaiah 24:1–13 describes the Lord's judgment of all humanity during the end times. This destruction comes in response to human sinfulness. God will bring a calamity on earth that will tear the people from their homes. All will suffer equally. Everything will wither, and the few survivors will be scorched. Music, wine, and joy will end: what's left of civilization will be like the olives missed by workers at harvest.

Isaiah describes terrible judgment the Lord will bring on the earth during the final days. The Lord will twist the surface of the earth, scattering the people. All will suffer equally regardless of status, and the earth will be fully emptied. Everything will wither and languish. The Lord will do this because of human sinfulness against Him. Few will survive, and there will be no wine, music, or gladness. The only exception to this will be the singing of those who praise the Lord. Massive earthquakes will destroy the earth, and the Lord will lock up all who stood against Him before beginning His reign as king.

Chapter 24 follows the oracles of Isaiah against the nations in chapters 13–23. However, this prophecy is against the entire earth. Here, we find the description of the judgment of the Lord on all humanity during the last days. God will destroy the world in response to human sinfulness. He will ruin the face of the earth, causing people to scatter. Few will survive. Wine, music, and gladness will disappear. Earthquakes will destroy the earth. The Lord will gather the powers from heaven and earth and lock them up together before beginning His reign on earth.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).