Total economic collapse and the loss of a lifetime's work stand at the heart of this devastating curse. It paints a bleak picture of a person stripped of all their assets, leaving absolutely nothing behind for their children to inherit.
The focus falls first on a lender or debt collector who relentlessly pursues the debtor [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, המאירי]. The primary approach among commentators is that the creditor acts like a hunter laying a trap, setting snares to capture and confiscate all of the debtor's property. Other interpretations suggest an eager, aggressive pursuit, where the lender attaches himself to every piece of the debtor's wealth [רש"י]. Alternatively, this describes a general state of poverty and hardship that grips a person throughout their life [אבן עזרא].
The process of this financial ruin is also understood in highly practical terms of drowning in debt. A lender might trap the individual through mounting, accumulated interest until their entire estate is lost. In another scenario, the debtor is forced to sell off their assets at a massive loss because there are no buyers, a desperate situation that feels less like a sale and more like being robbed [המאירי].
Following the creditor's actions, strangers who have no rightful claim step in to plunder whatever remains. They loot the wealth and property that the individual spent a long time building through hard work and exhaustion [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד]. Ultimately, the person is left completely without help. Everything they worked for is taken away, resulting in a tragic end where their children inherit nothing [מלבי"ם, מצודת דוד].
Beyond the literal meaning, some commentators uncover historical and midrashic layers within the text. One perspective views the creditor as a hint to the biblical Jacob, who will eventually collect his due from Esau and take hold of his wealth [רש"י]. Another approach connects the events to the story of the Book of Esther. In this view, the creditor is Mordecai the Jew, to whom Haman was sold as a slave because of his debts. As a result, strangers looted Haman's wealth rather than it being passed down to his sons [אלשיך].