Ezekiel 45:9

9 The Sovereign Lord said, "You have sinned too long, you rulers of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression. Do what is right and just. You must never again drive my people off their land. I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you this.

Ezekiel 45:9 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 45:9

Thus saith the Lord, let it suffice you, O princes of Israel,
&c.] Christian kings and princes, for such there shall be in those times; and who will have large and ample salaries provided for them, as they should have to support their dignity; and with which they should be content, as they will be, and not encroach upon the properties of their subjects: remove violence and spoil;
from your administration; the sense is, do not use violence, and exercise rapine and spoil, let these be far from you; seize not on the goods of your subjects, or spoil them of them by heavy taxes and impositions, or by vexatious lawsuits, and unjust sentences: and execute judgment and justice;
between men; let everyone enjoy his own property; and when any matter of controversy arises about it, fairly hear and examine the case, and do justice: take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord;
such as had been exacted of them in former times by tyrannical and unjust princes: or, "your expulsions" F2; driving them from their houses, estates, fields, and vineyards; either by taking them away from them, and annexing them to their own, as Ahab did; or by levying such taxes upon them they could not pay, and so were obliged to leave their inheritances and possessions. This, and some following verses, contain rules for regulating the civil state of the people of God in the latter day; which did not take place upon the Jews' return from Babylon, as appears from ( Nehemiah 5:15 ) but will be strictly observed by Christian princes in the latter day glory; see ( Isaiah 40:17 Isaiah 40:18 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Mkytvwrg) "delulsiones vestras", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus; "expulsiones vestras", Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 45:9 In-Context

7 Land is also to be set aside for the ruling prince. From the west boundary of the holy area it will extend west to the Mediterranean Sea; and from the east boundary it will extend to the eastern border of the country, so that its length will be the same as the length of one of the areas allotted to the tribes of Israel.
8 This area will be the share the ruling prince will have in the land of Israel, so that he will no longer oppress the people, but will let the rest of the country belong to the tribes of Israel.
9 The Sovereign Lord said, "You have sinned too long, you rulers of Israel! Stop your violence and oppression. Do what is right and just. You must never again drive my people off their land. I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you this.
10 "Everyone must use honest weights and measures:
11 "The [ephah ]for dry measure is to be equal to the [bath ]for liquid measure. The standard is the [homer.] The resulting measures are as follows: 1 [homer ]= 10 [ephahs ]= 10 [baths]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.