2 And it hath been--as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maidservant so her mistress, As the buyer so the seller, As the lender so the borrower, As the usurer so he who is lifting [it] on himself.
3 Utterly emptied is the land, and utterly spoiled, For Jehovah hath spoken this word:
4 Mourned, faded hath the land, Languished, faded hath the world, Languished have they--the high place of the people of the land.
5 And the land hath been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a covenant age-during.
6 Therefore a curse hath consumed the land, And the inhabitants in it are become desolate, Therefore consumed have been inhabitants of the land, And few men have been left.
7 Mourned hath the new wine, languished the vine, Sighed have all the joyful of heart.
8 Ceased hath the joy of tabrets, Ceased hath the noise of exulting ones, Ceased hath the joy of a harp.