Isaiah 24 –
Is It Speaking Of Armageddon?

If you realize that the Hebrew word הארץ and the Greek word γη can be correctly translated into three different English words, you will understand the problems with properly translating Isaiah 24, and why there are so many mis-understandings about the meaning of this Chapter. For, both of the above words refer to the land underneath you, and whether that means the ground under your feet, the land you are living in, or to the whole globe of the earth, is a decision that Bible translators have to make. And a wrong decision can change the meaning quite markedly. Also, there are differences between the Masoretic (Hebrew) and the Septuagint (Greek) texts.

Take a look at verse 1, for example. The Hebrew text reads: הנה יהוה בוקק הארץ ובולקה ועוה פניה והפיץ ישביה, or, Look Jehovah laying/waste the/(ground, land, or earth) and/devastating/her and/He/will/ruin faces/of/her and/He/will/scatter her inhabitants.

But the Greek text says: ιδου κυριος καταφθειρει την οικουμενην και ερημωσει αυτην και ανακαλυψει το προσωπον αυτης και διασπερει τους ενοικουντας εν αυτη, or, Look the/Lord will/waste the/habitation and desolate/it and uncover the/face of/it and scatter those dwelling in it.

Now, look at how the World English Bible translates this verse: ‘Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants.’

Then compare this to the way that Young’s Literal Translation reads: ‘Lo, Jehovah is emptying the land, And is making it waste, And hath overturned it on its face, And hath scattered its inhabitants.’

And compare that to the way we have translated it from the Septuagint: ‘{Look!} Jehovah will waste [your] habitation… He will make it quite desolate. He will uncover its face, and scatter those living upon it.’

So, which translation is correct… will God empty the whole earth, will He just empty the land [of Judah], or will He waste the habitation [of Judah]? As you can see, the proper translation can make a huge difference in the way this prophecy is interpreted.

First, just consider what the verse says…if God empties the whole earth, then what inhabitants will remain to be scattered? So, the wording of the World English Bible here shows that it probably isn’t the proper translation of the Hebrew words. Whereas, the words of Young’s Literal translation makes sense in saying that Jehovah is emptying the land … and hath scattered its inhabitants.

Notice that the Septuagint didn’t use the word γη (ground, land, or earth) here, but rather the word οικουμενην (habitation or home), and we trust that, because we doubt that the ancient Septuagint translators (who use the word γη in the following texts) would have made such a mistake if the original Hebrew text they were translating from the Hebrew word הארץ.

Now, you will notice that we have assumed that both the Hebrew and Greek texts aren’t talking about the destruction of the whole earth (as in Armageddon), but of the land of Judah (or possibly all Israel). Why is that? Well, notice why this destruction was to come, as explained in verse 5: ‘For [the land] is now thought of as lawless, on account of all those live there, because they have broken the Laws of Jehovah… they’ve wiped away and traded away, the Sacred Agreement of the ages.’

And since the only land that claimed to be under God’s Sacred Agreement and His Laws at the time was the land of Judah, the context indicates that the prophecy concerns that land, not the whole earth! Also, notice verse 13 which says: ‘All these things will happen to the land, there in the midst of the nations.’ So you can see that the nations will not have been wiped away, just the land of Judah.

Yet, contrary to the wording of  Young’s Literal Translation, the whole earth does seem to be indicated in some of the verses that follow (as well as in many other places in the Bible). For, verses 21-23 say: ‘God will raise His hand in that day, against the arrangement of the heavens, and against the kings of the earth. They’ll be gathered as one congregation, and be locked in a dungeon inside a castle, and remain there through many generations.’

The reason why we have concluded that γη should be translated as earth in this instance is because it speaks of many kings, and there was just one king reigning in Judah. So, these verses could in fact be referring to the Battle of Armageddon, which is to be God’s fight against the kings of the earth (see Revelation 16:12-16). Yet, this battle seems to be preceded by the desolating of the land of God’s Covenant people (Christians and Jews?), and it is followed by God’s Kingdom. For notice that verse 23 tells us: ‘Then the bricks will melt and the walls will all fall; the moon will be sad and the sun will be shamed; for the Lord will reign from Zion in Jerusalem, and before the elders He’ll be glorified.’

That some faithful will remain in the sacred land is indicated by the words found in verse 6 which says, ‘Then just the poor will live in the land, and just a few men will remain there.’ Verse 14 says: ‘So they will cry in loud voices… but those who remain in the land will rejoice, all together in the glory of Jehovah.’ And verse 2 foretells these happy results for those who survive: ‘And [those who are left] will then be like Priests; servants will then become masters; handmaids will then become ladies; those who buy will be those who then sell; those who borrow will then be the lenders, and those who owe will be those who are owed.’

But, what will happen to the rest of the people of ‘the nations?’ Well, verses 15 and 16 indicate that many of them will still be around and they’ll turn to the worship of Jehovah, for we read there: ‘And the glory of Jehovah will then be [made known], throughout the islands of the sea, and the Name Jehovah will be honored. [For all the peoples will be saying]: ‘O Jehovah, God of Israel; Of [Your] miracles we’ve heard from the [ends] of the earth, and that there’s hope for those who respect You.’

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