241 See, the Lord is making the earth waste and unpeopled, he is turning it upside down, and sending the people in all directions. 2 And it will be the same for the people as for the priest; for the servant as for his master; and for the woman-servant as for her owner; the same for the one offering goods for a price as for him who takes them; the same for him who gives money at interest and for him who takes it; the same for him who lets others have the use of his property as for those who make use of it. 3 The earth will be completely waste and without men; for this is the word of the Lord. 4 The earth is sorrowing and wasting away, the world is full of grief and wasting away, the high ones of the earth come to nothing. 5 The earth has been made unclean by those living in it; because the laws have not been kept by them, the orders have been changed, and the eternal agreement has been broken. 6 For this cause the earth is given up to the curse, and those in it are judged as sinners: for this cause those living on the earth are burned up, and the rest are small in number. 7 The new wine is thin, the vine is feeble, and all the glad-hearted make sounds of grief. 8 The pleasing sound of all instruments of music has come to an end, and the voices of those who are glad. 9 There is no more drinking of wine with a song; strong drink will be bitter to those who take it. 10 The town is waste and broken down: every house is shut up, so that no man may come in. 11 There is a crying in the streets because of the wine; there is an end of all delight, the joy of the land is gone. 12 In the town all is waste, and in the public place is destruction.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 24:1-12
Commentary on Isaiah 24:1-12
(Read Isaiah 24:1-12)
All whose treasures and happiness are laid up on earth, will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to ourselves what the Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of spirit which attend all things here below. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth is become quite different to man, from what it was when God first made it to be his habitation. It is, at the best, like a flower, which withers in the hands of those that please themselves with it, and lay it in their bosoms. The world we live in is a world of disappointment, a vale of tears; the children of men in it are but of few days, and full of trouble, See the power of God's curse, how it makes all empty, and lays waste all ranks and conditions. Sin brings these calamities upon the earth; it is polluted by the sins of men, therefore it is made desolate by God's judgments. Carnal joy will soon be at end, and the end of it is heaviness. God has many ways to imbitter wine and strong drink to those who love them; distemper of body, anguish of mind, and the ruin of the estate, will make strong drink bitter, and the delights of sense tasteless. Let men learn to mourn for sin, and rejoice in God; then no man, no event, can take their joy from them.