Ezekiel 18:7 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 18:7
And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
a covering · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and ha…
Exodus 22:26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
Ezekiel 18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath co…
Deuteronomy 24:12-13 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
Ezekiel 33:15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely…
Exodus 22:21-24 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Ezekiel 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even…
Amos 2:8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 18:1-9
Evil manners, we say, beget good laws; and in like manner sometimes unjust reflections occasion just vindications; evil proverbs beget good prophecies. Here is,
I. An evil proverb commonly used by the Jews in their captivity. We had one before (Eze 12:22) and a reply to it; here we have another. That sets God's justice at defiance: "The days are prolonged and every vision fails; the threatenings are a jest." This charges him with injustice, as if the judgments executed were a wrong: "You use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, now that it is laid waste by the judgments of God, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge; we are punished for the…
restored . . . pledge--that which the poor debtor absolutely needed; as his raiment, which the creditor was bound to restore before sunset (Exo 22:26-27), and his millstone, which was needed for preparing his food (Deu 24:6, Deu 24:10-13).
bread to . . . hungry . . . covered . . . naked-- (Isa 58:7; Mat 25:35-36). After duties of justice come those of benevolence. It is not enough to refrain from doing a wrong to our neighbor, we must also do him good. The bread owned by a man, though "his," is given to him, not to keep to himself, but to impart to the needy.
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 18:7
5.
Hath not oppressed any - Has not used his power or influence to oppress, pain, or injure another.
6.
Hath restored to the debtor his pledge - Has carefully surrendered the pawn or pledge when its owner came to redeem it. As the pledge is generally of more worth than that for which it is pledged, an unprincipled man will make some pretense to keep it; which is highly abominable in the sight of God.
7.
Hath spoiled none by violence - Either by robbery or personal insult. For a man may be spoiled both ways.
8.
Hath given his bread to the hungry - Has been kind-hearted and charitable; especially to them that are in the deepest want.
9.
Hath covered the naked with a garment - Has divided both…
He holds the eleventh place: And covered the naked with clothing. This statement, according to the explanation of the previous verse, should be discussed in two ways: that we give clothing to the naked, as the Savior says: I was naked and you clothed me (Matthew 25), and that we give the clothing of Christ to the naked in faith and virtues, of whom it is written: For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). He was naked in this garment, not having a wedding garment, and was thrown out of the banquet. Concerning this nudity, the Lord speaks to Jerusalem: But you were naked and filled with confusion (or shame).
The tenth is: He gives his bread to the hungry. From this we are taught that alms should not be given to the satiated, but to the hungry; and not to those who belch from fullness, but to those who suffer from emptiness. For in bread is contained all food. And it is significantly said, his: so that we do not turn bread acquired from rapine, usury, and ill-gotten gain into mercy; for the redemption of a man's soul (Prov. XIII, 7) is his own riches. What we see many people doing, both clients and the poor, and farmers; not to mention the violence of soldiers and judges, who oppress by power, or commit thefts, so that they may give little things to the poor, and boast in their own crimes. And let the public deacon in the Churches recite the names of those making offerings: so much is offered by this person, so much is promised by that person, and they please themselves with the applause of the people, while their conscience torments them. And let us give material to the miserable, so that they may rejoice in what they give, and not mourn over what they have taken away. It is more fitting, however, that we understand the just bread to be the one who says: I am the living bread, which came down from heaven (John VI, 51); and which we pray to be given to us in prayer: Our substantive bread, or that which will come to us (Matthew VI, 11); so that we may deserve to receive what we will always receive afterwards, in the present world, every day. He gives this bread to the hungry, of whom it is written: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst (Matt. V, 6). For the righteous person makes the common bread of all his own, which had failed in Judea, as the prophet says: I will take away from them strength, or the staff of bread. What we are speaking of, if indeed we are of Christ, or rather, as the prophet commemorates, it is the bread of believers and the hungry. It is not to be given at all to those who have eaten and drunk and been satisfied, and have grown fat and kicked, of whom it is said: Woe to you who are full now, for you shall hunger (Luke VI, 25), lest they vomit it up, as Solomon says: For he will vomit and corrupt your good words (Prov. XXIII). What the Savior says in other words: Do not give what is holy to dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6).
Dictionary and topics
Creditors · To return before sunset, garments taken in pledge — To return before sunset, garments taken in pledge
Integrity · 16:19,20; — 16:19,20;
Judgment · ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS — ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS
Pawn · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Responsibility · ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE — ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Surety (Guarantee) · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Works · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Ezekiel 18:7
And hath not oppressed any,.... By fraud or force, particularly the poor, to the great grief and hurt of them:
but hath restored to the debtor his pledge; which was pawned; not embezzling it, or keeping it beyond the time fixed by the law of God, Deuteronomy 24:12;
hath spoiled none by violence; has not committed theft and robbery, or done injury to any man's person and property:
hath given his bread to the hungry; which was his own; what he had laboured for, and come by honestly, and so had a right to dispose of; and being merciful, as well as just, eats not his morsel alone, but distributes it to the poor and hungry, Isaiah 58:7;
and hath covered the naked with a garment; as Job did, a…
Ezekiel 18:5-9
5. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
5. Et vir si fuerit justus, et fecerit judicium et justitiam,
6. And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
6. Super montes non comederit, et oculos suos non extulerit ad idola [205] domus Israel, et uxorem socii sui [206] non polluerit, et ad mulierem menstruatam non accesserit,
7. And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garm…
The Righteous Man Shall Not Die
Eze 18:5. If a man is righteous, and doeth right and righteousness, Eze 18:6. And doth not eat upon the mountains, and doth not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and doth not defile his neighbour's wife, and doth not approach his wife in her uncleanness, Eze 18:7. Oppresseth no one, restoreth his security (lit., debt-pledge), committeth no robbery, giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with clothes, Eze 18:8. Doth not give upon usury, and taketh not interest, withholdeth his hand from wrong, executeth judgment of truth between one and another, Eze 18:9. Walketh in my statutes, and keepeth my rights to execute truth; he is r…
Borrowers might be required to give objects as security to ensure that the loan would be repaid. However, if the object was an outer garment (which might be a poor man’s only valuable possession), it had to be returned before nightfall so that he could remain warm at night (see Exod 22:26-27).
Rashi on Ezekiel 18:7
wrongs Heb. יוֹנֶה, an expression of wronging (אוֹנָאָה) ; i.e., he wronged no man.
what has been pledged for a debt he returns If he took his friend’s garment as a pledge for a loan, he would return it to him at sunset.
