1
Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth
and leaves it in ruins.
He will twist its surface
and scatter its inhabitants—
2
people and priest alike, servant and master,
maid and mistress, buyer and seller,
lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
3
The earth will be utterly laid waste
and thoroughly plundered.
For the LORD has spoken this word.
4
The earth mourns and withers;
the world languishes and fades;
the exalted of the earth waste away.
5
The earth is defiled by its people;
they have transgressed the laws;
they have overstepped the decrees
and broken the everlasting covenant.
6
Therefore a curse has consumed the earth,
and its inhabitants must bear the guilt;
the earth’s dwellers have been burned,
and only a few survive.