Ezekiel 18:7

7 He doesn't oppress anyone but returns his collateral to the debtor.^[a] He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

Ezekiel 18:7 Meaning and Commentary

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 Deuteronomy 24:13 ) ( Exodus 22:26 ) ; 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, as well as the former, and for which Dorcas is commended, ( Job 31:17-20 ) ( Acts 9:39 ) .

Ezekiel 18:7 In-Context

5 "Now suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right:

6 He does not eat at the mountain [shrines] or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or come near a woman during her menstrual impurity.

7 He doesn't oppress anyone but returns his collateral to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

8 He doesn't lend at interest or for profit but keeps his hand from wrongdoing and carries out true justice between men.

9 He follows My statutes and keeps My ordinances, acting faithfully. Such a person is righteous; he will certainly live." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .

Footnotes

• [a] Dt 24:12-13