Commentary for Isaiah 24:2

(Addendum) And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest Not like other travelers, that the master is led by his slave, and the mistress is led by her maidservant; the master is esteemed and the slave is held in low esteem, the mistress is esteemed and the maidservant is held in low esteem, but when the captor leads the captives, all are equal before him. [Addendum to Rashi]

And it shall be, etc. All men shall be alike in this catastrophe. כעם ככהן וגו׳. As with the people, so with the priest. etc. When two nouns with the prefix כ follow each other, the phrase is elliptical; the complete sentence would be: as with the people so with the priest, and as with the priest so with the people, as with the servant so with the master, and as with the master so with the servant, etc.

as with the buyer, so with the seller When the people lives in its land securely, the buyer is happy and the seller is unhappy, since he will not return to the land he sold, but when the captor leads them, the buyer will not rejoice and the seller will not mourn, and so, as with the lender, so with the borrower, both are equal, for the borrower has nothing to pay, and the lender, had he not lent to this one, the captor would have taken it. Likewise, as with the creditor, so with the one who owes him. The word לֹֹוֶה applies to money and נֹשֶה applies to other commodities, such as wine, oil, grain, and honey, as it is written (Deut. 24:10): “When you lend your brother anything as a loan.” [Addendum to Rashi]

כמלוה As with the lender, as with him who gives away money without security.²A. V., As with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. According to I. E. לוה to borrow money without security נשה (חנם) to lend on security. Comp. לא תהיה לו כנשה Thou shalt not be to him as one that lends money on security (A. V., As an usurer). Ex. 22:25, the נשה, according to I. E., has not that kind and charitable feeling, which he has who lends without security (מלוה); the former is more liable to hurt the feelings of the poor in taking and giving back the pledge (comp. Dent. xiiv. 10, ff.). The word חנם used by I. E. is translated without security, because it is here the opposite of על משכונו on his security.

נושה The capitalist.

אשר נושה בו He who borrows money on security.