Isaiah 24:20

¹⁸ Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.

¹⁹ The earth is utterly broken apart, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken violently.

The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

²¹ In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.

²² They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit. They will be confined to a dungeon and punished after many days.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
KJV: The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
WEB: The earth will stagger like a drunken man, and will sway back and forth like a hammock. Its disobedience will be heavy on it, and it will fall and not rise again.
ASV: The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.
DARBY: The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and is shaken like a night hut; and its transgression is heavy upon it; and it falleth and shall not rise again.
BLB: The earth like a drunkard will stagger greatly, and it will totter like a hut; and transgression will be heavy upon it, and it will fall and never again rise.

ÅB: Jorden skal rave som den drukne og svinges hit og dit som en hengekøy, og dens misgjerning skal gynge på den, og den skal falle og ikke reise seg mere.
OTB: Jorden vakler som en drukken, den svaier som en hytte; dens overtredelse ligger tungt på den, og den faller, aldri mer å reise seg.
B1930: Jorden skal rave som den drukne og svinges hit og dit som en hengekøi, og dens misgjerning skal gynge på den, og den skal falle og ikke reise sig mere.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Isaiah 19:14
The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
Read in context
Daniel 11:19
After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
Read in context
Isaiah 29:9
Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
Read in context
Hosea 4:1–5
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
Read in context
Amos 8:14
Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’— they will fall, never to rise again.”
Read in context
Revelation 18:21
Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.
Read in context
Zechariah 5:5–8
Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Now lift up your eyes and see what is approaching.”
Read in context
Lamentations 1:14
My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand.
Read in context