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DRAFT: A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 24-27

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 13 February 2024 *




Isaiah 24-27 Timeline
Fig. 1


Introduction

This study treats Isaiah 24-27 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

This prophecy is regarding the three periods of God's wrath that are known as the 3 great "Days of the Lord" (as in Joel [8]). The meaning of the passage is obscured both by its chiastic structure and by ambiguous language that can apply to more than one period, so we will try to justify our parsing decisions in some detail.



Discussion

1. Presuppositions

We base our parse of Isaiah 24-27 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:

  1. The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD). The Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and slaughtered its people. The Judahite Christians escaped this massacre.
  2. The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (2027AD). Satan's empires, "Babylon" and the Beast, are defeated, and Israel is restored.
  3. End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD). The time of tribulation that takes place between Christ's Millennial Reign and Christ's Heavenly Reign.

2. Parsing the chiasmus

We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.

Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the period of First Jewish-Roman War Period 1, the start of Christ's Millennial Reign Period 2 and the End-Times Tribulation Period 3.


Categorizing Isaiah 24-27

Ch 24 Vs 1-4 appears to belong to Period 3. This extent of worldwide devastation will only occur during the End-Times Tribulation (see Rev 8,9).

Ch 24 Vs 5-13 belong to Period 1. The destruction and desolation of Judah. We believe the Laws spoken of in vs 5 refer to the Mosaic laws that the Pharisees had corrupted. The scope of the geography narrows to a nation and then a city (in the previous unit, the whole earth was covered). The particulars mentioned - new wine, timbrel, harp - are appropriate to an ancient time. Also, we expect to see a passage regarding the Roman attack in all cryptochiastic prophecies.

Ch 24 Vs 14-16a belong to Period 2. Praise to the God of Israel from around the world. The entire earth celebrates and praises the "Righteous one" of Israel, because He has defeated their oppressor, Satan. This kind of worldwide celebration will not occur in the other two Periods.

Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a belong to Period 1. The prophet laments for the deceit of his own people, the Judahites. Because of their wickedness, they cannot escape death.

Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 belong to Period 3. The scope of this section broadens to the whole world in 24:18b-23 - tribulations around the earth and in the heavens. In the next chapter, the passage in 25:1-5 is a song of praise suitable for Christians at the end of Christ's glorious reign on earth, and the rest of the chapter, 25:6-12, is regarding events at the beginning and end of the Final Tribulation.

Ch 26 vs 1-15 belong to Period 1. This subunit is primarily a song from the Christian Judahites at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War.

Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13 belongs to Period 2. Satan's forces are defeated and Israel is restored.


Original text

We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.


Isaiah 24 1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and shatter [a] its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor [b]. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the haughty people of the earth languish [c].
5 The land is defiled under [d] its people; they have disobeyed the laws, twisted [e] the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the land [f]; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the land [g] are burned up, and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the land [h]. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. 13 So will it be on the land [i] and among the peoples [j], as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16a From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
16b But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” [k] 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the land [l]. 18a Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.
18b The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hammock [m] in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit [n]; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. 23 The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory [o].


Retranslation notes for Isaiah 24
[a] vs 1 "shatter" instead of "scatter".
[b] vs 2 "for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor" instead of "for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor". Modified verse, based on the BSB translation, so that we have a balanced regular chiasmus.
[c] vs 4 "the haughty people of the earth languish" instead of "the heavens languish with the earth".
[d] vs 5 "land is defiled under" instead of "earth is defiled by”.
[e] vs 5 "twisted" instead of "violated”. From the New Living Translation.
[f] vs 6 "land" instead of "earth”.
[g] vs 6 "inhabitants of the land" instead of "earth's inhabitants”.
[h] vs 11 "land" instead of "earth”.
[i] vs 13 "land" instead of "earth”.
[j] vs 13 "people" instead of "nations”.
[k] vs 16 "Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!" instead of "The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”. Based on the NET bible.
[l] vs 17 "land" instead of "earth”.
[m] vs 20 "hammock" instead of "hut”.
[n] vs 22 "They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit" instead of "They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon”.
[o] vs 23 "The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory" instead of "The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory”. Based on the NET translation.


Isaiah 25 1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more, never to be rebuilt. [a] 3 Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you. [b] 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain, [c] a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 In [d] this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove contempt for his people [e] from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure. [f] 11 He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim. [g] God will bring down their pride along with [h] the cleverness of their hands. 12 He will bring down your strongly fortified walls [i] and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.


Retranslation notes for Isaiah 25
[a] vs 2 ", never to be rebuilt" instead of "; it will never be rebuilt".
[b] vs 3 "Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you" instead of "Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you". Based on Young's Literal Translation.
[c] vs 6 "The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain" instead of "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples".
[d] vs 7 "In" instead of "On".
[e] vs 8 "contempt for his people" instead of "his people’s disgrace".
[f] vs 10 "For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure" instead of "The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure". Based on the KJV.
[g] vs 11 "He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim" instead of "They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim". Based on the KJV.
[h] vs 11 "along with" instead of "despite".
[i] vs 12 "strongly fortified walls" instead of "high fortified walls".


Isaiah 26 1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous people [a] may enter, the people [b] that keeps faith. 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.
7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. 8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit seeks [c] for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord. 11 Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your anger against people and be confounded; [d] let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you will establish [e] peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. 13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You went against them and eradicated them [f]; you wiped out all memory of them. 15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. 18 We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not been born [g]. 19 But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will bring forth [h] her dead.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.


Retranslation notes for Isaiah 26
[a,b] vs 2 "people" instead of "nation".
[c] vs 9 "seeks" instead of "longs".
[d] vs 11 "Let them see your anger against people and be confounded" instead of "Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame".
[e] vs 12 "will establish" instead of "establish".
[f] vs 14 "You went against them and eradicated them" instead of "You punished them and brought them to ruin".
[g] vs 18 "been born" instead of "come to life".
[h] vs 19 "bring forth" instead of "give birth to".


Isaiah 27 1 In that day,
the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
2 In that day—
“Sing about a fruitful vineyard: 3 I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. 4 I am no longer angry. Who would dare set briers and thorns against me in battle? I would trample on them; [a] I would set them all on fire. 5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
7 Has He struck him as the striking of his striker? Does He slay as the slaying of his slain? [b] 8 You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them as on the day of the east wind.[c] 9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no standing images [d] or incense altars will be left standing. 10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without wisdom [e]; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
12 In that day the Lord will harvest [f] from the flowing Euphrates even to [g] the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were lost [h] in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.


Retranslation notes for Isaiah 27
[a] vs 4 "I am no longer angry. Who would dare set briers and thorns against me in battle? I would trample on them" instead of "I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle".
[b] vs 7 "Has He struck him as the striking of his striker? Does He slay as the slaying of his slain?" instead of "Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?" Based on the Literal Standard Version.
[c] vs 8 "You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them as on the day of the east wind" instead of "By warfare and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows". Based on the NASB.
[d] vs 9 "standing images" instead of "Asherah poles".
[e] vs 11 "wisdom" instead of "understanding".
[f] vs 12 "harvest" instead of "thresh".
[g] vs 12 "even to" instead of "to".
[h] vs 13 "lost" instead of "perishing".


3. Building the reconfigured text


From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 24-27 form a cryptochiasmus as below:

A1   Ch 24 Vs 1-4 Period 3. End-Times Tribulations
  B1   Ch 24 Vs 5-13 Period 1. The desolation of Judah
    X   Ch 24 Vs 14-16a Period 2. Praise to the "Righteous One" of Israel
  B2   Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a Period 1. The Judahites are slaughtered
A2   Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 Period 3. End-Times events


We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (For example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For example, A1,A2 is a unit ) so that we get a list of such units.


The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

X  [B1,B2]  [A1,A2]        (1)

Note: We choose the reverse order for our units so that we get another cryptochiasmus with the rest of the prophecy. The rules of cryptochiasmi allow this.


We have the following sequence when we include the rest of the prophecy:
X - Period 2
[B1,B2] - Period 1
[A1,A2] - Period 3
Ch 26 vs 1-15 - Period 1. The Christians of Judea praise God
Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13 - Period 2. Satan is defeated and Israel is restored


We still have text for the periods in a non-contiguous form. We can treat this as a doubly applied cryptochiasmus as below


M1   X - Period 2
  N1   [B1,B2] - Period 1
   XX   [A1,A2]     - Period 3
  N2   Ch 26 vs 1-15 - Period 1
M2   Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13 - Period 2

The sequence selected for rearrangement is:
XX  [M1,M2]  [N1,N2]        (2)


Translating this sequence (2) into the subunits of the first chiasmus, we get:

[A1,A2]  [X, Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13]   [[B1,B2], Ch 26 vs 1-15]        (3)

Further translating (3) into verse numbers, we get:

[Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 ]  [Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13]   [[Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a], Ch 26 vs 1-15]        (4)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (4).



4. Isaiah 24-27 Reconfigured

End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD) (Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12)

Chiasmus 1: Events at the Beginning and End of the End-Time Tribulation

Ch 24 1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and shatter its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the haughty people of the earth languish.
18b The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hammock in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. 23 The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory.

Chiasmus 2: An overview of events from the start of the Millennial Reign to the end of the world

Ch 25 1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more, never to be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 In this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8a he will swallow up death forever.
8b The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove contempt for his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” 10a For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain.
10b Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure. 11 He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim. God will bring down their pride along with the cleverness of their hands. 12 He will bring down your strongly fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.


The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (2027AD) (Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13)

Chiasmus 1: Satan's empire is defeated, Israel is spiritually restored

Ch 24 14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16a From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
Ch 26 16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. 18 We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not been born. 19 But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will bring forth her dead.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Chiasmus 2: God destroys the Beast empire and nurtures the New Israel

Ch 27 1 In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
2 In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard: 3 I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. 4 I am no longer angry. Who would dare set briers and thorns against me in battle? I would trample on them; I would set them all on fire. 5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.” 6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
7 Has He struck him as the striking of his striker? Does He slay as the slaying of his slain? 8 You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them as on the day of the east wind.

Chiasmus 3: Israel is restored and "Babylon" is destroyed forever

9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no standing images or incense altars will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without wisdom; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
12 In that day the Lord will harvest from the flowing Euphrates even to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were lost in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.


The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a, Ch 26 vs 1-15)

Chiasmus 1: Judah is devastated for its sins

Ch 24 5 The land is defiled under its people; they have disobeyed the laws, twisted the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6a Therefore a curse consumes the land; its people must bear their guilt.
6b Therefore the inhabitants of the land are burned up, and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers. 10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the land and among the peoples, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
16b But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the land. 18a Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.

Chiasmus 2: A song of praise from the Christian Judahite community

Ch 26 1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous people may enter, the people that keeps faith. 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.
7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. 8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit seeks for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord. 11 Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your anger against people and be confounded; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you will establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. 13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You went against them and eradicated them; you wiped out all memory of them. 15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.


5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.1 End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD) (Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 )

This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: Events at the Beginning and End of the End-Time Tribulation

The passage below in 24:1-4,18b-23 is structured as a chiasmus. The subunits, A1 [24:1-4] and A2 [24:21-23], predict events at the start of the End-Times Tribulation. The pivot, X [24:18b-20], is regarding the end of the Period.


Subunit A1: Events at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation (24:1-4)

Chapter 24 1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and shatter its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the haughty people of the earth languish.

At the start of the End-Times Tribulation, Christ raptures out the righteous to heaven (see Matt. 24:31), and he leaves behind the wicked to languish, primarily those who haughtily refuse to worship and obey God (see Isaiah 13:11). After the rapture, large parts of the earth and those who live on it are devastated by God (see Rev 8 in [6]); all the wicked on earth suffer equally, no matter who they are: rich or poor, great or small ("for people and priest alike, for servant and master...").



Pivot X: Events at the Close of the End-Times Tribulation (24:18b-20)

Chapter 24 18b The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hammock in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.

At the close of the End-Times Tribulation, after the Final Judgement (20:11-15), the earth is destroyed in an outpouring of God's wrath ("the floodgates of the heavens are opened"). The earth is shaken in a progressively violent manner until it is forever destroyed, for the earth is corrupted by all the wickedness that occurred on it (see also Rev. 21:1).



Subunit A2: Events at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation (24:21-23)

Chapter 24 21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.

During the Millennial Reign, Satan's angels ("powers in the heavens") had controlled the nations outside the New Israel through their chief worshippers, the human leaders ("kings") of those nations (Satan himself was imprisoned in the Abyss at the start of the Millennial Reign - Rev 20:1.2). At the beginning of the Final Tribulation, God binds these fallen angels in the Abyss / Bottomless Pit (cf. Rev 6:12-17, cf. Psalm 82:6-8) and imprisons the "kings". They will all be punished later in the Final Judgement (cf. Rev. 20:11-12).



Chapter 24 23 The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory.

The fallen angels (fallen angels are often represented by the sun, moon and stars - Deut. 17:3, 4:19) will no longer control the nations of the earth ("moon will be covered", "sun darkened") (see Rev. 6:12-14). For, during the End-Times Tribulation, God will take complete control of the whole earth; He will reign with great glory through the elders of His angels and through the New Jerusalem (the elders of His angels are their 24 leaders - Rev 4:4).



Chiasmus 2: An overview of events from the start of the Millennial Reign to the end of the world

The prophecy of this chiasmus is presented as if the prophet was located in time at the start of the End-Times Tribulation; it begins (in vs 1-5) with a song of praise that looks back at the Millennial Reign, and continues with prophecies regarding the End-Times Tribulation up to the End of the World.


The passage below in 25:1-12 is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 25:1-3 God has destroyed Satan's nation
  B1 25:4-5 God has preserved the righteous
    X 25:6-8a God will reward the righteous
  B2 25:8b-10a God will preserve the righteous
A2 25:10b-12 God will destroy Satan's nation


Subunit A1: God has destroyed Satan's nation (25:1-3)

This subunit praises God for His actions at the start of the Millennial Reign.


Chapter 25 1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

God is praised, because at the start of the Millennial Reign He has faithfully fulfilled all His wonderful plans. God's plans for the start of the Millennial Reign had been revealed in some detail through His prophets - almost all cryptochiasmi have a Period regarding the start of the Millennial Reign (for example, see [5]).



Chapter 25 2a You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more, never to be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you.

At the start of Christ's Millennial Reign, God had destroyed forever Satan's empire of "Babylon" ("city", "fortified town", "foreigners’ stronghold") (Rev 18). God has been revered and feared around the world, even by terrible peoples, for destroying this extraordinarily powerful empire.



Subunit B1: God has preserved the righteous (25:4-5)

This subunit poetically praises God for His actions during the Millennial Reign.


Chapter 25 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

During the Millennial Reign, God had been a protector of the righteous of the world that were poor and weak; through Christ and his Messiah, God had sheltered the powerless from those who would ruthlessly exploit or destroy them ("storm", "heat") (see also Isaiah 11:3-5).



Pivot X: God will reward the righteous (25:6-8a)

This pivot is regarding the wonderful things God will do for righteous Christians at the start of Christ's Heavenly Reign, after the End-Times Tribulation.


Chapter 25 6 The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.

At the start of Christ's glorious Heavenly Reign, there will be great rewards and celebration ("feast of rich food", "banquet of aged wine"...) for the righteous (see also Rev. 21:2-7). Note that "this mountain" in this pivot refers to the community of righteous Christians living around the world (the "mountain" metaphor is similarly used in Dan. 2:35).



Chapter 25 7 In this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

The veil that separates the physical world from the spiritual realm will be lifted for the righteous (for those "in this mountain"), so that they can easily move between the spiritual and physical dimensions (see Rev 21).



Chapter 25 8a he will swallow up death forever.

The righteous will enjoy everlasting life (John 3:16, Rev. 21:4), and even the mechanism of death for them will be destroyed (see Rev. 20:13,14). ( Paul paraphrases this passage in 1 Cor. 15:54, in support of his own predictions regarding this time.)



Subunit B2: God will preserve the righteous (25:8b-10a)

This subunit predicts events that take place in the early stages of the End-Times Tribulation.


Chapter 25 8b The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;

Christ will come in glory at the start of the End-Times Tribulation and rapture out the righteous into heaven (Rev. 7:9,14,15), so they will no longer face sorrow or pain (Rev 7:16,17) (although the Millennial Reign of Christ had been a golden age, it had not been completely free from pain).



Chapter 25 8c he will remove contempt for his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

The contempt of the wicked non-believer for God's righteous people will be taken away across the earth; because while the righteous are taken up to heaven, the wicked that remain on earth will suffer through the End-Times Tribulation.



Chapter 25 9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” 10a For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain.

The righteous (those "in this mountain"), who have been raptured into heaven, sing in praise of God, as they have been saved from the End-Times Tribulation (Rev. 7:10, Rev 7:14-17). God is faithful to those who trust in Him, and He will take care of the righteous ("the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain").



Subunit A2: God will destroy Satan's nation (25:10b-12)

This subunit predicts events that take place in the closing stages of the End-Times Tribulation.


Chapter 25 10b Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure. 11a He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim.

Towards the close of the End-Times Tribulation, God will trample down the wicked in China ("Moab"), just as straw is trampled into dung to make manure (note that the righteous people of China have been raptured out by this time). God will reach into China and throw its structures around, in the way that a swimmer stretches out his hands into the water and pushes it around.

We believe that this destruction by God is in retaliation to China's failed attack on Jerusalem during the final "Magog" war (Rev 20:7-10, 16:13-16). China, the leader of the three "Gog and Magog" attacks on Israel (see details in [10]), appears to be Satan's enforcing nation around the time of the Millennial Reign.

In what sense is China called "Moab" here? China is the New Israel's periodically hostile eastern neighbour around the time of the Millennial Reign, just as Moab was Israel's occasionally hostile eastern neighbour in ancient times (China is also called "Moab" in Isaiah 15-16 [7]).



Chapter 25 11b God will bring down their pride along with the cleverness of their hands. 12 He will bring down your strongly fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.

God will utterly destroy the nation of China ("bring down their pride", "bring them down to the ground, to the very dust"), along with their advanced defence equipment ("cleverness of their hands"). We take "strongly fortified walls" to figuratively refer to China's strong military defence, because literal fortifications are not of much use in this Period.



5.2 The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (2027AD) (Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 16 - Ch 27 vs 13)

This Period is structured as a series of 3 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: Satan's empire is defeated, Israel is spiritually restored

The passage below in 24:14-16a, 26:16-21 is structured as a chiasmus. The subunits, A1 [24:14-16a] and A2 [26:20-21], predict the destruction of Satan's empires of "Babylon" and the Beast. The pivot, X [26:16-19], is regarding the spiritual restoration of Israel.


Subunit A1: Satan is defeated: "Babylon" is destroyed (24:14-16a)

Chapter 24 14a They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
14b from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15a Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
15b exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16a From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”

God defeats Satan's empire "Babylon" (Rev. 17,18), that had tormented the world through the tyrannical reign of the Beast (Rev. 13). The righteous from many parts of the world praise the God of Israel, and the rest of the world is encouraged to join in. The "east" and the "west" represent the nations of the world closer to Israel, and "islands of the sea" (nations across the Mediterranean) and "ends of the earth" refer to more distant lands; taken together they represent the whole world. ( Note that vs 14b and 15a form a parallelism, as does vs 15b and 16a.)



Pivot X: Israel is spiritually restored (26:16-19)

Chapter 26 16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.

The Christian community around the world "writhed in pain", because it had faced great persecution (it was "disciplined" to refine its character) during the reign of the Beast (Rev 13:10). It came to the Lord in its great distress, barely able to speak from the pain.



Chapter 26 18 We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not been born.

In spite of the stoic suffering and martyrdom ("labor") of the worldwide Christian community, it could not influence the whole world into converting to Christianity (as indicated by "gave birth to wind" and "the people of the world have not been born" - note the parallelism). Although the Gospel is preached to the whole world in this Period (Matthew 24:14), not all in the world will heed the Word of God (so as to be "born" into Christianity), and be saved out of their sinful ways.



Chapter 26 19 But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will bring forth her dead.

God had hardened the hearts of His people of the Northern Tribes ("your dead") against Himself for the waywardness of their forefathers (see Isaiah 29:9,10). At the start of the Millennial Reign, God will reawaken the Israelites so that their hearts are once again open to Him, and they will rejoice in this new spiritual life. In the metaphor of this passage, the Israelites have been like plants so withered that they lie as if dead in the dust of the earth; God awakens in the way that the morning dew refreshes and rejuvenates withered plants in dry lands, so that they stand upright once again ("the earth will bring forth her dead") - the meaning of the metaphor is similar to that of the dry bones of Ezekiel 37, esp 37:13.

Note that there are two metaphors of this pivot: the non-Israelites are "born" into the worship of God, while the people of the Northern Tribes, whose forefathers had all once worshipped God, are brought back to "life" from the "dead".



Subunit A2: Satan is defeated: the Beast is destroyed (26:20-21)

Chapter 26 20a Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while

After "Babylon" is destroyed (see corresponding subunit A1 above), the righteous of the world ("my people"), including the Israelites, are told to hold on a little longer and "hide" themselves, for the Beast empire is still active and it will attack them one last time (Zech 12:2-3).



Chapter 26 20b until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

God will destroy the Beast empire, so punishing the sins committed during its reign (Ezekiel 39). The murders of the righteous ("blood") during the reign of the Beast will be disclosed to the world, and God will punish the perpetrators (Rev 18:24, Rev 19:11-21). This period of God's wrath against the wicked is one of the 3 great "Days of the Lord" of Joel [8].



Chiasmus 2: God destroys the Beast empire and nurtures the New Israel

The passage below in 27:1-8 is structured as a chiasmus. In the pivot, X [27:2-6], God nurtures the New Israel. The subunits, A1 [27:1] and A2 [27:7-8], predict the destruction of Satan's Beast Empire.


Subunit A1: The Beast Empire is destroyed (27:1)

Chapter 27 1 In that day,
the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.

Satan's army, the Beast ("Leviathan") (see Rev 13:1), will be defeated at the start of Christ's Millennial Reign (Rev 19:11-21). The physical aspect of the Beast (the humans) will be killed (Ezekiel 39), while the spiritual aspect of the Beast (the fallen angels) will be thrown in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).

Leviathan, the giant mythical sea dragon/serpent, is often used in the Bible to represent a powerful, dangerous enemy (see Job 3:8, Job 41, Psalm 74:14, 104:26). In Rev. 12:3, the spiritual aspect of the Beast is represented by a dragon, a coiling, multi-headed serpent in the stars of heaven ( see [9] ). Note that we take all three descriptions - gliding serpent, coiling serpent and monster of the sea - to refer to the same mighty beast.

The Lord's "sword" is the army of angels through whom God destroys this Beast (see Rev 19:14). The "sea" represents the mass of people out of which the human aspect of the Beast emerges (Rev 13:1, 17:15).



Pivot X: God nurtures the New Israel (27:2-6)

This pivot, 27:2-6, is a song, with alternating response lines, in praise of God for His blessings on the New Israel - the 'fruitful vineyard' - of the Millennial Reign.


Chapter 27 2 In that day—
“Sing about a fruitful vineyard:

This verse urges the audience to sing the response lines of this song.



Chapter 27 3 I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually.
I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.

During the Millennial Reign, God will nurture the New Israel, the fruitful vineyard, and guard it, so that nations controlled by fallen angels do not harm it.



Chapter 27 4a I am no longer angry.

God is no longer angry with the Israelites, as He has sufficiently punished them for the sins of their forefathers (see also Zech. 9:11).



Chapter 27 4b Who would dare set briers and thorns against me in battle?
I would trample on them I would set them all on fire.
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;
let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”

In keeping with the vineyard metaphor, briers and thorns represent hostile nations controlled by fallen angels that come against the New Israel (see for example, the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38). The New Israel's enemies have two options: make peace with God and come under His protection; or be destroyed.



Chapter 27 6 In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.

During the Millennial Reign the New Israel ("Jacob" is used as a synonym for Israel), the fruitful vineyard, will be a peaceful, prosperous nation that is a blessing to the world (see also Isaiah 19:24).



Subunit A2: The Beast Empire is destroyed (27:7-8)

This subunit continues from 27:1 in the corresponding subunit A1 above.


Chapter 27 7 Has He struck him as the striking of his striker? Does He slay as the slaying of his slain?

God punishes and destroys the Beast empire with the same severity with which it had struck and killed the righteous (see also Obadiah 1:15). The implied answers to the two rhetorical questions of this passage are: "Yes".



Chapter 27 8 You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them as on the day of the east wind.

In His fierce anger, God drives away and destroys the Beast army by marshalling the forces of nature against them (Isaiah 30:30-31).



Chiasmus 3: Israel is restored and "Babylon" is destroyed forever

The passage below in 27:9-13 is structured as a chiasmus. The pivot, X [27:10-11], predict the eternal destruction of "Babylon". The subunits, A1 [27:9] and A2 [27:12-13], indicate that Israel will be restored, both spiritually and physically.


Subunit A1: Israel is restored: spiritually (27:9)

Chapter 27 9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no standing images or incense altars will be left standing.

At the start of Christ's reign, the Northern Tribes ("Jacob") atone for the waywardness of their forefathers, They stop the worship of pagan gods and their idols ("altar stones", "standing images", "incense altars"), and turn back to their God forever (Romans 11:26).



Pivot X: "Babylon" is destroyed forever (27:10-11)

Chapter 27 10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11a When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them.

Satan's empire "Babylon" (the "fortified city") will be destroyed forever, and, with it, Satan's power on earth (see also Rev 18). These verses evoke a stark image of the eternal ruin of this empire; but since this is an international organization and not a literal city, the entire passage should be considered figurative (see also Isaiah 13:19-22).



Chapter 27 11b For this is a people without wisdom; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

The people of "Babylon" will also be destroyed, because God, their creator, will show no mercy on those who foolishly chose Satan for the worldly benefits that he offers.



Subunit A2: Israel is restored: physically (27:12-13)

Chapter 27 12 In that day the Lord will harvest from the flowing Euphrates even to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were lost in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

God will once again gather ("harvest") the Israelites, who are spread throughout the world (the "Euphrates" and the "Wadi of Egypt" represent the whole world), into the New Israel.

In what sense do the "Euphrates" and the "Wadi of Egypt" represent the whole world? The Euphrates and the Wadi (river) of Egypt represent the might of Israel's ancient oppressors, Assyria and Egypt respectively, and they, in turn, represent the powerful empires through which Satan controls the world at the start of the Millennial Reign; more specifically, Assyria represents the 7-headed Beast empire (Rev. 13,17) and Egypt represents the 6th king of Rev. 17:10, the Western Empire. Since the Western Empire makes up a large part of the Beast Empire, the two are used synonymously in this passage (cf. Isaiah 11:15,16). And because "Assyria/Egypt" control the world, they represent the whole world.

The "trumpet" in this passage refers the one used in ancient Israel to gather the people (see Numbers 10:1-10); so it is another metaphor to indicate that God will call out to His people and gather them in from around the world.



5.3 The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a, Ch 26 vs 1-15)

This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: Judah is devastated for its sins

The passage below in 24:5-13,16b-18a is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 24:5-6a Judah is to be punished for its sins
  B1 24:6b Most of the Judahites are killed
    X 24:7-12 Judah mourns its devastation
  B2 24:13 Most of the Judahites are killed
A2 24:16b-18a Judah is to be punished for its sins

Note that subunits A1 and A2 are regarding a time before the war, and the rest of the chiasmus is about the aftermath of the war.


Subunit A1: Judah is to be punished for its sins (24:5-6a)

Chapter 24 5 The land is defiled under its people; they have disobeyed the laws, twisted the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6a Therefore a curse consumes the land; its people must bear their guilt.

The Judahites have disobeyed the statutes of God, so breaking the everlasting covenant (we take "laws", "statutes", and "everlasting covenant" to refer to the Mosaic covenant - Exodus 19:3-6). Their corrupt leadership has led them astray into wickedness through evil ideas from Babylon, and through the twisting of the statutes from God (see Matt. 23). So God has decided to punish ("curse") His people and their land.



Subunit B1: Most of the Judahites are killed (24:6b)

Chapter 24 6b Therefore the inhabitants of the land are burned up, and very few are left.

The majority of Judahites are cruelly killed ("burned up" figuratively represents destruction of all kinds) in the First Jewish-Roman War, and the few who are not killed are taken into exile. Only Christian Judahites are spared the massacre as they heeded Christ's advice to flee to the mountains on seeing the Romans (Matthew 24:15-16). ( See details on this war in [2].)



Pivot X: Judah mourns its devastation (24:7-12)

The passage of this pivot poetically describes the aftermath of the war.


Chapter 24 7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.

There is no longer any joy or celebration in the land of Judah after its devastation, and Isaiah poetically expresses the gloom in the land through a series of pictures (see also Joel 1:8-20). Nature ("vine", "new wine") is affected along with the people.



Chapter 24 10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.

The cities of Judah are destroyed and desolate (we take the "ruined city" of this passage to refer to the urban centres of Judah in general and not any particular city). The entrances to the houses are barred because very few people live in these cities. The few remaining cry for wine - to drown their sorrows and not to make merry. The battered gates and broken walls ("ruins") signify that the fortified cities can longer protect its residents.



Subunit B2: Most of the Judahites are killed (24:13)

Chapter 24 13 So will it be on the land and among the peoples, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.

Most of the population of Jerusalem and Judea are killed or exiled into slavery - Judea is as bare as an olive tree or grape vine after the harvest (cf. Isaiah 17:6).



Subunit A2: Judah is to be punished for its sins (24:16b-18a)

Chapter 24 16b But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!”

The prophet laments (he "wastes away" in extreme sorrow), for he foresees the deception of the Judahites, particularly the leaders (Matt. 23). They pretend to be pious worshippers of God, but they are in fact wicked worshippers of Satan and pagan gods (Zeph. 1:4-6). These are the Judahites who rejected Christ and crucified him.



Chapter 24 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the land. 18a Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.

All the Judahites that rejected Christ and remained under the Old Covenant were killed by the Romans, because this destruction of Jerusalem and its temple signified the end of the Old Covenant between God and the Israelites. This passage, a saying of the time (the same expression is used in Jer. 48:43,44), indicates that there will be no chance of escape.



Chiasmus 2: A song of praise from the Christian Judahite community

The passage below in 26:1-15 is structured as a chiasmus. The pivot, X [26:7-11], compares the ways of the righteous to those of the wicked. The subunits, A1 [26:1-6] and A2 [26:12-15], are a song of praise from the Christian Judahites.


Subunit A1: A song of praise from Christian Judahites (26:1-6)

Chapter 26 1a In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

This song in 26:1-6 and 26:12-15 is from the people of Judah who were saved by their faith in Christ - they had heeded Jesus' warning to escape to the mountains when they saw the Romans. They are the first Christian community, and this song celebrates their Christian journey and God's blessings on them. Two figurative "cities" are mentioned: the "strong city" that is the Christian community, and the "lofty city" of haughty non-believers.



Chapter 26 1b We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous people may enter, the people that keeps faith.

The 'strong city' represents the community of faithful Christians who make up the "kingdom of God" (Mark 1:15). The 'walls' of the 'city' represent salvation (cf. Rev 21:14), because only the righteous who are saved through Christ can enter this "city".



Chapter 26 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

Those who trust in God, the Rock Eternal, enjoy perfect peace, for He will protect them (cf. Isaiah 12:2).



Chapter 26 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.

This 'lofty city', which represents the wicked among the Judahites, particularly the Pharisee leaders and their kind, is the antagonist of the righteous 'city' of vs 1. This 'city', ruled over the Judahites for a time, and impoverished and oppressed them (cf. Isaiah 3:13-15). These wicked ('lofty city') are destroyed ("turned to dust") through the Roman attack, and their memory is "trampled upon" by those they oppressed.



Pivot X: The righteous and the wicked (26:7-11)

This pivot is a comparison between the righteous Christians and the wicked of the world in general (unlike the subunits that focus on the Christian Judahites).


Chapter 26 7 The path of the righteous is level;
you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you;
your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
9a My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit seeks for you.

God, the Upright One, directs the way of the righteous ("makes their way smooth" in vs 7), so that the path they must take is clear to them ("level") (cf. John 14:6, Psalm 143:8, Proverbs 3:6). The wicked, on the other hand, wander aimlessly (as in Proverbs 5:6).

The righteous are eager to walk according to God's law, and in accordance with His reputation as a righteous and good God ("your name and renown" in vs 8).

The righteous yearn for an understanding of God, and they seek it continually ("night" and "morning" in vs 9a), so that they may live according to His will (cf. Psalm 63:1-8).

Note that vs 7,8 and 9a have a similar meaning and are structured as 3 parallelisms. Also, Isaiah changes the narrative perspective - he speaks as a narrator in vs 7, as the righteous in vs 8, and as a single Christian in 9a.



Chapter 26 9b When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.

The good mend their ways when God judges the nations of earth from time to time and inflicts punishment on them for their wickedness (see also Psalm 119:67). But the wicked continue in their evil ways, even after God is gracious to them and shows them favour (see Romans 2:4), and even though they are surrounded by righteous people ("in a land of uprightness"). For the wicked have no regard for the greatness of God (see also Isaiah 45:8).



Chapter 26 11 Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your anger against people and be confounded; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

The Lord will punish the wicked for their sins (His "hand is lifted high" to strike them), but they are oblivious to the danger. They will be shocked when they eventually see God's wrath against them, for He will punish them in the fire reserved for the enemies of God (see also Rev. 20:11–15).



Subunit A2: A song of praise from Christian Judahites (26:12-15)

The song of praise continues from the corresponding subunit A1 above.


Chapter 26 12 Lord, you will establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

God will establish peace and prosperity for Christian Judahites in the same way that He has nurtured the Israelites in the past - all that they have comes from their God.



Chapter 26 13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You went against them and eradicated them; you wiped out all memory of them.

The Judahites have turned to other gods in the past (see Zeph. 1:4-6) (other gods have figuratively "ruled over" them), but after Christ's work among the Judahites, they only worship the Lord their God. All memories of these other gods will be wiped out (the other gods are figuratively "dead","live no more" and "eradicated" as far as the Judahites are concerned).



Chapter 26 15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.

God has expanded the Christian "nation" by enabling the Judahites to preach Christ's Gospel to other nations (Matthew 28:18-20), and by opening the hearts of many in other nations to the Word from Christ.




Conclusion

With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we show that this prophecy makes predictions regarding three periods of punishment and destruction of the wicked: the wicked among the Judahites in Period 1, Satan's wicked forces in Period 2, and the wicked of the whole world in Period 3.



References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The Olivet Discourse" in Matthew 24
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 13-14
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22 Part 2
[6] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22 Part 3
[7] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 15-16
[8] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Joel
[9] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 12
[10] A Commentary on Ezekiel 39





* First version published on 4 February 2020.