The Meaning of Isaiah 24:2 Explained

Isaiah 24:2

KJV: And it shall be, as 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 taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

YLT: And it hath been -- as a people so a priest, As the servant so his master, As the maid-servant 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.

Darby: And it shall be, as 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 taker of usury, so with him from whom usury is taken.

ASV: And it shall be, as 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 creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall be, as 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 taker of usury,  so  with the giver of usury  to him. 

What does Isaiah 24:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God"s actions will affect all individuals in all types of relationships, including religious, domestic, and commercial ones. Positions, possessions, and power will make no difference to God (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7).

Context Summary

Isaiah 24:1-13 - The Desolation Of A Guilty World
This and the three following chapters form a single prophecy, describing the calamities about to desolate the land, because the inhabitants had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Primarily it describes the experiences of Palestine under the successive invasions from the Euphrates valley, first of Nineveh and then of Babylon. There is a mysterious connection between the condition of a man's soul and the response of surrounding nature. The very vineyards would sigh in sad accord with the prevailing misery and sin, Isaiah 24:7-9; and in the great city silence would reign in streets decimated by plague and war, Isaiah 24:10-12. Both in the Old and the New Testament the blessings of sufficiency and comfort are the fruits of holy living; whereas, sooner or later, evil overtakes wrong-doing. "Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed," is always true. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 24

1  The doleful judgments of God upon the land
13  A remnant shall joyfully praise him
16  God in his judgments shall advance his kingdom

What do the individual words in Isaiah 24:2 mean?

And it shall be as with the people so with the priest as with the servant so with his master as with the maidservant 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 in
וְהָיָ֤ה כָעָם֙ כַּכֹּהֵ֔ן כַּעֶ֙בֶד֙ כַּֽאדֹנָ֔יו כַּשִּׁפְחָ֖ה כַּגְּבִרְתָּ֑הּ כַּקּוֹנֶה֙ כַּמּוֹכֵ֔ר כַּמַּלְוֶה֙ כַּלֹּוֶ֔ה כַּנֹּשֶׁ֕ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר נֹשֶׁ֥א בֽוֹ

וְהָיָ֤ה  And  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כָעָם֙  as  with  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
כַּכֹּהֵ֔ן  so  with  the  priest 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
כַּעֶ֙בֶד֙  as  with  the  servant 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
כַּֽאדֹנָ֔יו  so  with  his  master 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָדֹון  
Sense: firm, strong, lord, master.
כַּשִּׁפְחָ֖ה  as  with  the  maidservant 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שִׁפְחָה  
Sense: maid, maid-servant, slavegirl.
כַּגְּבִרְתָּ֑הּ  so  with  her  mistress 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: גְּבֶרֶת  
Sense: lady, queen.
כַּקּוֹנֶה֙  as  with  the  buyer 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָנָה 
Sense: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess.
כַּמּוֹכֵ֔ר  so  with  the  seller 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: מָכַר  
Sense: to sell.
כַּמַּלְוֶה֙  as  with  the  lender 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: לָוָה 
Sense: to join, be joined.
כַּלֹּוֶ֔ה  so  with  the  borrower 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: לָוָה 
Sense: to join, be joined.
כַּנֹּשֶׁ֕ה  as  with  the  creditor 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָשָׁא  
Sense: to lend, be a creditor.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר  so  with 
Parse: Preposition-k, Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
נֹשֶׁ֥א  the  debtor 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָשָׁא 
Sense: to lend on interest or usury, be a creditor.