Isaiah 5:24
Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
The judgment is utter consumption, as certain and complete as fire devouring stubble and flame consuming chaff, leaving the wicked rotten at the root and with blossom rising as dust, in total ruin and decay. This destruction falls on those who cast away the law of the LORD of hosts and despise the word of the Holy One of Israel, with contempt for God's revealed word given as its stated cause. It is God's curse upon abandoning His law and making no difference between common and holy things. That curse means He will not accept partial obedience even when nearly everything has been done as directed, no command is to be counted unimportant, and He will not accept a substitute for what He required.
Rejection of God's standard shows itself in moral inversion, calling evil good and good evil, confusing right and wrong, trusting one's own wisdom, and treating sin as a small or acceptable matter. That course is joined to losing a conscience that warns and reproves. The warning falls with special force on those made unjust by strong drink, especially those who are mighty to drink wine and strong to mix strong drink. It reaches lawmakers and administrators of justice whose judgment is clouded, so that they justify the wicked for reward, enact oppressive laws, deny justice to the righteous and condemn the innocent, and that injustice itself reveals their disregard for God's law and word.
The verse also reaches religious influence, for those who profess to follow God yet live by standards of their own are false guides without true piety. Those who teach others to disregard God's law weaken the authority of the Bible and help bring moral corruption. God's word is despised not only by open rejection but also when it is misinterpreted and misapplied.