Isaiah 5:8

First woe upon great land monopoly, Isaiah 5:8-10.

8. Join house to house… field to field The building of long city blocks, and forming immense estates, by monopolizing landholders.

No place Between the vast landed estates the small farmer was crowded out, “no place” being left for him, and he was turned adrift or reduced to serfdom. Tendencies to such concentration of estates in the hands of great landlords arise in times of great prosperity both in England and America.

Alone… earth Or, rather, land. The great feudal mansions would dot the whole of Judea, each in solitary grandeur. For a similar picture in the Roman empire consult our note on James 5:6. Micah 2:2 contemporaneously with Isaiah confirms his description. The woe on this landed aristocracy was decay and desolation.]