Ezekiel 18:7

7 He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the items given as security by poor debtors. He does not rob the poor but instead gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.

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 “Suppose a certain man is righteous and does what is just and right.
6 He does not feast in the mountains before Israel’s idols or worship them. He does not commit adultery or have intercourse with a woman during her menstrual period.
7 He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the items given as security by poor debtors. He does not rob the poor but instead gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.
8 He grants loans without interest, stays away from injustice, is honest and fair when judging others,
9 and faithfully obeys my decrees and regulations. Anyone who does these things is just and will surely live, says the Sovereign LORD .
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.