2. And it shall be–as [what happens] with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as 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 and the earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly pillaged; for the Lord has said this.
4. The land and the earth mourn and wither, the world languishes and withers, the high ones of the people [and the heavens with the earth] languish.
5. The land and the earth also are defiled by their inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, disregarded the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. [Gen. 9:1-17; Deut. 29:20.]
6. Therefore a curse devours the land and the earth, and they who dwell in it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the land and the earth are scorched and parched [under the curse of God's wrath], and few people are left. [Rom. 1:20.]
7. The new wine mourns, the vine languishes; all the merrymakers sigh.
8. The mirth of the timbrels is stilled, the noise of those who rejoice ends, the joy of the lyre is stopped.
9. No more will they drink wine with a song; strong drink will be bitter to those who drink it.
10. The wasted city of emptiness and confusion is broken down; every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
11. There is crying in the streets for wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is banished and gone into captivity.