Isaiah 24:4

“The earth mourneth, [and] fadeth away, &c.] It mourns, because of its inhabitants being destroyed; and it fades away, because stripped of its wealth and riches: so the kings of the earth, and merchants of it are represented as weeping and mourning at the destruction of Rome, because of its judgments, and the loss of its trade and riches, (<661809>Revelation 18:917): the world languisheth, [and] fadeth away: the inhabitants of it are like a sick man, that is so faint and feeble that he cannot stand, but totters and falls; and like the leaves of trees and flowers of the fields, whose strength and beauty are gone, and fade and fall: the haughty people of the earth do languish: the kings and…”

“world--the kingdom of Israel; as in Isa 13:11, Babylon. haughty--literally, "the height" of the people: abstract for concrete, that is, the high people; even the nobles share the general distress.”

“The earth mourneth - The word ‘earth’ here, as in Isaiah 24:1, means the land of Judea, or that and so much of the adjacent countries as would be subject to the desolation described. The figure here is taken from flowers when they lose their beauty and languish; or when the plant that lacks moisture, or is cut down, loses its vigor and its vitality, and soon withers (compare the note at Isaiah 1:30; Isaiah 34:4; Psalms 1:3). The world - (תבל têbêl). Literally, the inhabitable world, but used here as synonymous with the ‘land,’ and denoting the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (compare the note at Isaiah 13:11) The haughty people - Margin, as in the Hebrew, ‘Height of the people.’ It denotes…”

“The world - The land of Judea. The majesty - Not only common people, but the high and lofty ones. Isaiah 24:5”

“24:4-13 All humanity is guilty (Rom 3:23) and under condemnation (see Isa 59:1-15). Judgment is likened to a failed grape harvest that brings drinking and feasting to a halt. 24:4 earth . . . dries up . . . land wastes away and withers: The prophets often used the imagery of a drought to get the attention of people who live off the land (see also Jer 23:10; Joel 1:12; Amos 1:2).”

“mourneth: Isa 3:26, Isa 28:1, Isa 33:9, Isa 64:6; Jer 4:28, Jer 12:4; Hos 4:3 haughty people: Heb. height of the people, Isa 2:11, Isa 2:12 Isaiah 24:5”

“That this is the case is evident from Isa 24:4-9, where the accursed state into which the earth is brought is more fully described, and the cause thereof is given. "Smitten down, withered up is the earth; pined away, wasted away is the world; pined away have they, the foremost of the people of the earth. And the earth has become wicked among its inhabitants; for they transgressed revelations, set at nought the ordinance, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they who dwelt in it make expiation: therefore are the inhabitants of the earth withered up, and there are very few mortals left. New wine mourneth, vine is parched, all the merry-hearted groan.…”