Isaiah 24:2

Impending Judgment on the Earth

1 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.

2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the ^apriest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
^bAs with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.

3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.

4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The ^ahaughty people of the earth languish.

5 ^aThe earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have ^btransgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the ^ceverlasting covenant.

6 Therefore ^athe curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are¹ desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are ^bburned,
And few men are left.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

<< Isaiah 24:1

Isaiah 24:3 >>

Isaiah 24:2

As with the people, so with the priest - This does not mean in moral character, but in destiny. It does not mean that the character of the priest would have any influence on that of the people, or that because the one was corrupt the other would be; but it means that all would be involved in the same calamity, and there would be no favored class that would escape. The prophet, therefore, enumerate the various ranks of the people, and shows that all classes would be involved in the impending calamity.

As with the taker of usury - He who lends his money at interest. It was contrary to the Mosaic law for one Israelite to take interest of another Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19; Nehemiah 5:7, Nehemiah 5:10; but it is not probable that this law was very carefully observed, and especially in the corrupt times that preceded the Babylonian captivity.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 24:2:**

Leviticus 18:24-30
2 Kings 18:13

<< Isaiah 24:1

Isaiah 24:3 >>

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