What does Isaiah 24:9 mean?

God's judgment during the end times is being described through a focus on one crop: wine grapes (Isaiah 24:7–8). Those grapes were a staple of agriculture in the Near East in Isaiah's day, along with the wine they produced. The Lord's judgment will leave the entire earth desolate, causing the crops of new wine grapes to fail. Without those grapes, there would be no harvest celebrations with music and the drinking of wine together as a community. Isaiah adds that strong drink will be available, but it will be bitter to those who drink it. The harder alcohol will not bring the joy and gladness that the wine once did. Instead, it will simply amplify the mood of bitterness for the few who remain on the ruined earth.

The fact that such a major resource is gone implies that many other crops, such as food for people and animals, will likely be destroyed as well.