18 And her gain and her hire shall be holy to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor stored up ; but her gain shall belong to those that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for stately clothing.

XXIV. 1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it void, and overturneth the face thereof, and scattereth the inhabitants thereof.

2 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.

3 The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.

4 The earth mourneth, fadeth ; the world languisheth, fadeth; the highness of the people of the earth languisheth.

5 And the earth is become impious under her inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, overstepped the statute, broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore hath a curse devoured the earth, and the inhabitants of it are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.

18. ‘sufficiently’: or, ’1. ‘earth’: or, ‘land,’ according to many, and so throughout the chapter, to ver. 17. 3, 4. Heb. verbs repeated, for emphasis.5. Or, ‘changed the ’6. Or, ‘parched,’ ‘ scorched, and7. Or, ‘The grapes of the vintage mourn.

8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the uproar of the jubilant endeth, the of the harp ceaseth.

9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it,

10 The city of wasteness is broken down; every house is shut up, not to enter.

11 There is a crying in the streets for wine; all joy is grown dark; the mirth of the land is gone.