See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth
\nand devastate it;
\nhe will ruin its face
\nand scatter its inhabitants\u2014
\n2 it will be the same
\nfor priest as for people,
\nfor the master as for his servant,
\nfor the mistress as for her servant,
\nfor seller as for buyer,
\nfor borrower as for lender,
\nfor debtor as for creditor.
\n3 The earth will be completely laid waste
\nand totally plundered.
\nThe LORD has spoken this word.
\n4 The earth dries up and withers,
\nthe world languishes and withers,
\nthe heavens languish with the earth.
\n5 The earth is defiled by its people;
\nthey have disobeyed the laws,
\nviolated the statutes
\nand broken the everlasting covenant.
\n6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
\nits people must bear their guilt.
\nTherefore earth\u2019s inhabitants are burned up,
\nand very few are left. (Isaiah 24:1-6)<\/p>\n
This particular passage from Isaiah is a good illustration of the importance of both a proper translation and the importance of paying attention to the context.<\/p>\n
The word that the NIV has here translated as \u201cearth\u201d is perhaps the primary source of the problem, along with the header that it\u2019s translators \u201chelpfully\u201d but at the head of the chapter: The LORD\u2019s Devastation of the Earth. <\/p>\n
The impression created upon reading the passage, for a modern reader in the United States is that God has predicted that aliens are going to invade the world and scatter its inhabitants through the galaxy while burning the world and killing many of them:<\/p>\n