Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee. (Isaiah 47:15)

Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured.

But all in vain; viz., with thy wizards and diviners, those deceivers of the people, concerning whom Cato once said, Potest Augur Augurem videre et non ridere?  Can those fellows look one on another and not laugh, when they consider how they deceive people, and cheat them of their moneys?

Hence they are called merchants also in the next words.

 

Painting: The Opening of Waterloo Bridge seen from Whitehall Stairs, 18 June 1817, oil on canvas, c. 1832. Tate Britain, by John Constable