Ezekiel 18:8 Kommentar

Perhaps, in reading some of the foregoing chapters, we may have been tempted to think ourselves not much concerned in them (though they also were written for our learning); but this chapter, at first view, appears highly and nearly to concern us all, very highly, very nearly; for, without particular reference to Judah and Jerusalem, it lays down the rule of judgment according to which God will deal with the children of men in determining them to their everlasting state, and it agrees with that very ancient rule laid down, Gen 4:7, "If though doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" But, "if not, sin," the punishment of sin,"lies at the door." Here is, I. The corrupt proverb used by the profane Jews, which gave occasion to the message here sent them, and made it necessary for the justifying of God in his dealings with them (Eze 18:1-3). II. The reply given to this proverb, in which God asserts in general his own sovereignty and justice (Eze 18:4). Woe to the wicked; it shall be ill with them (Eze 18:4, Eze 18:20). But say to the righteous, It shall be ill with them (Eze 18:4, Eze 18:20). But say to the righteous, It shall be well with them (Eze 18:5-9). In particular, as to the case complained of, he assures us, 1. That it shall be ill with a wicked man, though he had a good father (Eze 18:10-13). 2. That it shall be well with a good man, though he had a wicked father (Eze 18:14-18). And therefore in this God is righteous (Eze 18:19, Eze 18:20). 3. That it shall be well with penitents, though they began ever so ill (Eze 18:21-23 and Eze 18:27, Eze 18:28). 4. That it shall be ill with apostates, though they began ever so well (Eze 18:24, Eze 18:26). And the use of all this is, (1.) To justify God and clear the equity of all his proceedings (Eze 18:25, Eze 18:29). (2.) To engage and encourage us to repent of our sins and turn to God (Eze 18:30-32). And these are things which belong to our everlasting peace. O that we may understand and regard them before they be hidden from our eyes!

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 18 This chapter contains an answer to an objection of the Jews to the dealings of God with them in a providential way. The objection is expressed in a proverb of common use among them, and complained of as being without cause, Eze 18:1; however, for the future, no occasion should be given them to use it; for, though God could justify his proceedings upon the foot of his sovereignty, all souls being his; yet he was determined none but the sinner himself should suffer, Eze 18:3; and puts various cases for the illustration and vindication of his proceedings; as that a just man, who is described by his proper characters, as abstaining from several sins specified, and doing what is right and good, should surely live, Eze 18:5; but that the son of such a just man, being the reverse of his father's character, should surely die, Eze 18:10; and again, the son of such a wicked man, observing the heinousness of his father's sins, and abstaining from them, though his father should die in his iniquities, he should not die for them, but live, Eze 18:14; by which it appears that the dealings of God with the Jews were not according to the proverb used by them, but quite agreeable to his resolution; that the sinner, be he a father or a son, shall die for his own sins; and that the righteous man's righteousness shall be upon him, and the wicked man's sin upon him, and accordingly both shall be dealt with, Eze 18:19; which is further illustrated by a wicked man's turning from his sinful course, and doing righteousness, and living in that righteousness he has done; which is more agreeable to God that he should live, and not die in sin, Eze 18:21; and by a righteous man turning from his righteousness, and living a vicious life, and dying in it, Eze 18:24; from both which instances this conclusion follows, that God is to be justified; and that his ways are equal, and the Jews' ways were unequal, and their complaint unjust, Eze 18:25; and the same instances are repeated in a different order, and the same conclusion formed, Eze 18:26; upon which the Lord determines to judge them according to their own ways, their personal actions, good or bad; and exhorts them to repentance and reformation; and closes with a pathetic expostulation, with them, Eze 18:30.

If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,.... But if this just man beget a son that is a thief and a murderer, as he may; for grace is not conveyed by natural generation, though sin is: a good man has often bad children, even such as are guilty of capital crimes, as a "robber", a "highwayman", a "breaker up", or "through", as the word (e) signifies; one that breaks through walls, and into houses, and breaks through all the laws of God and man; and sticks not to shed innocent blood in committing his thefts and robberies, as these sins often go together; such an one was Barabbas, whose name signifies the son of a father, and perhaps his father might be a good man: and that doeth the like to any one of these things; or that does anyone of these things, whether theft or murder. (e) "effractorem", Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Piscator, Grotius.

(Verse 5, 6 and following) And if a man is just and does judgment and justice, does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not violate his neighbor's wife, does not approach a menstruating woman, does not oppress anyone, gives back a pledge to a debtor, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, covers the naked with clothing, does not lend at interest or take any increase, turns his hand away from iniquity, does justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my judgments, to do truth: this man is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord God. LXX; But the man who is righteous, who practices judgment and justice; who does not eat on the mountains, and does not lift up his eyes to the thoughts of the house of Israel; and does not defile his neighbor's wife, and does not approach a woman with menstrual impurity; and does not oppress a man; who returns a pledge to the debtor; and does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry; and covers the naked with clothing; and does not give his money at interest, and does not take more; who turns his hand away from injustice; who makes just judgments between a man and his neighbor; who walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances, to perform them: he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord God. He says, 'You wish to know what has been said: I shall render the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation (Deut. V, 9),' it does not mean what most people think; nor is it similar to this saying: 'The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge (Jerem. XXXI, 29).' Listen to what I am going to say: if there is a just father, who does these things, and the son does not do them, and he has an evil son, who, forsaking his father's virtues, surrenders himself to vices; will not the just son still live because he is just; and the other will die because he has committed all the things that the father became just by avoiding?' Let's see the catalog of virtues of the father, which seem to me to be divided into seventeen parts. The first of these is to exercise judgement; the second, similar to this, is to unite justice with judgement; the third is to not eat on the mountains; the fourth is to not lift one's eyes to idols, or as the Septuagint translates, to the thoughts of the house of Israel; the fifth is to not violate one's neighbor's wife. The sixth is to avoid the embrace of a menstruating wife. The seventh is to not distress a person, or as the Septuagint has it, to oppress by force; the eighth is to return a pledge to a debtor; the ninth is to not take anything by force, or according to the Septuagint, to not commit robbery; the tenth is to give bread to the hungry; the eleventh is to clothe the naked; the twelfth is to not give money at interest; the thirteenth is to not receive more than what one has given; the fourteenth is to turn away one's hand from iniquity; the fifteenth, which seems similar to the first but is different in part, is to exercise true judgement between man and man, or one's neighbor; the sixteenth is to walk in the commandments of the Lord; the seventeenth is to keep his judgements and his statutes. We will explain the meaning of each of these things in the following. If, he says, a man is just and renders judgment, it is written in Proverbs: The thoughts of the just are judgments (Prov. XII, 5). Whoever possesses this virtue, to do nothing without reason and judgment, can say that prophetic saying: The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves (Ps. XVIII, 10), and when he judges all things rightly, so as not to show partiality to the poor in judgment, he will fulfill the commandment of the Lord: You shall judge the lesser as well as the greater (Prov. XVIII), boldly saying: My soul has desired to desire your judgments at all times (Ps. CXVIII, 10). And again: I have chosen the path of truth, I have not forgotten your judgments (V. 30). And in the same psalm: I know that your judgments are righteous (or just) (V. 75); and it will lead to such great blessedness that he will understand the judgments of the Lord, which are many and deep; and he will say with the Apostle: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out (Rom. II, 33). And in prayer let him say: For thy judgments are delightful (Psal. CXVIII, 39). After judgment follows justice, which whoever possesses will undoubtedly possess Christ, who according to the Apostle has become for us justice, and sanctification, and redemption (I Cor. I); so that he may perform true justice, and not show favoritism in judgment; but may know in the judgment of others that he himself must be judged by justice. The third is not to eat on mountains, which the Jews believe to be a sin related to idolatry. For we frequently read in the books of Kings and Chronicles: But nevertheless he did not depart from the high places. Still the people sacrificed in the high places, and burned incense in the high places (3 Kings 15:22; Paral. 20); this Scripture indicating that they sacrificed to idols in the mountains and groves, and burned incense. But we will say that he eats in the mountains, who says with the Pharisee: I give thee thanks, O God, that I am not like this publican: I fast twice on the Sabbath: I give tithes of all that I possess (Luke 18:12), etc. And on the contrary, the tax collector, upon hearing him who said, 'Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart' (Matthew 11:29), beat his chest with his hand, that is, the treasure of wicked thoughts, and did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven. But also what is said elsewhere, 'Do not seek what is too difficult for you, nor investigate what is beyond your power' (Sirach 3:22), convicts all heretics of devouring the mountains of pride, despising the simplicity of the Church, and not knowing the scripture about themselves: 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble' (James 4:6). In the fourth place, it is placed, and it has not lifted its eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, for which the Seventy translated their thoughts. But the idols, that is, the simulacra they have invented in their hearts, all heretics make, to which they lift the eyes of their hearts, those who have considered their falsehood and lies to be the truth. But the house of Israel is called idols, which are found in the Church; and through the occasion of a false name of knowledge, they deceive even the simple, in order to introduce the doctrines of philosophers into the house of Israel, namely those who contemplate God with their mind. In the fifth place, it is stated: and he shall not violate or contaminate the wife of his neighbor, which explicitly prohibits adultery; but from what is added, the wife of his neighbor, unless every man is understood to be a neighbor, it seems to be a precept that we abstain from the wives of friends; but we may freely defile the spouses of enemies and strangers. Therefore, every man should be considered the neighbor of another man, according to the parable of the Gospel, which is presented by the Savior, of a certain man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, who was wounded by robbers: when a Pharisee asks who was his neighbor, teaching that the one who does good is his neighbor. According to a mystical understanding, the wife of a holy man can be understood as wisdom, as Solomon says: Love her, and she will embrace you; cherish her, and she will protect you (Prov. IV, 6). One who desires to defile her criticizes the blessings of others and, inflamed by the torches of envy, violates what is holy, corrupts what is chaste, and contaminates what is pure. The sixth point: He shall not approach a woman, whether a wife or menstruating. Every month, the heavy and sluggish bodies of women are relieved by the shedding of impure blood. At the time when a man has intercourse with a woman, it is said that the conceived fetus inherits the defect of the semen, so that lepers and elephantiasis sufferers are born from this conception, and both sexes have monstrous bodies, with small or enormous limbs, and corrupted pus. Therefore, men are advised to know the specific times for sexual intercourse, not only with other women but also with their own, with whom they are joined by law, as the Scripture says: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth' (Genesis 1:28), and to know when it is time to have intercourse and when to abstain from their wives. Indeed, both the Apostle and the Ecclesiastes say: There is a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing (Eccles. III, 6). Therefore, let the wife beware that she does not, by the enticement of her desire for sexual intercourse, tempt her husband, and let the husband not force his wife, thinking that she ought at all times to be subject to the pleasure of the marriage bed. Hence, Paul also says: That each one of you know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor (I Thess. IV, 4). Beautifully, in the Pythagorean sayings of Xystus, it is said: He who desires ardently is an adulterer of his own wife. A certain person, translating this book into the Latin language, wanted to illustrate it with the name of martyr Xystus, without considering in the entire volume that he divided it in vain into two parts, omitting completely the name of Christ and the Apostles. It is not surprising that he transformed a pagan philosopher into a martyr and bishop of the city of Rome: just as he exchanged the name of the book of Origen with the name of the martyr Pamphilus, in order to conciliate the most impious books on the beginnings with Roman ears, with Eusebius also from Caesarea as the first supporter. In the seventh place, it is written: And he shall not grieve a man, or, as the LXX translated, he shall not oppress by power. I do not know to what fault and sin someone may be a stranger. And indeed, the Egyptians oppressed the Hebrews by power. Hence, Habakkuk complains, why does the wicked oppress the righteous (Habakkuk 1). And I wish that it would be said only of those who are outside, and not of those who are inside. For even the leaders of the Churches often oppress the people by pride. Of which it is written: They made you a prince, but not to be proud, and you should be among them as one of them (Ecclus. XXXII, 1). And the Savior commanded: Whoever wants to be first among you must be the servant of all (Mt. XX, 27). And what is said in Hebrew, and do not grieve the man, agrees with the testimony of the Apostle: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you (Eph. IV, 30). And in the Gospel, which the Nazarenes, who read according to the Hebrews, are accustomed to read, among the greatest crimes is considered to be one who grieves the spirit of his brother. But if the sadness of another kills the one who grieves, what should be said about wickedness and a tyrannical mind, to which this applies: Why does the earth and ashes boast (Sirach 10:9)? So that, having forgotten its own condition, it, being full of phlegm, gall, feces, and worms for a little while, would place its mouth in the sky, and its tongue would extend to the earth, and it would say with true Nebuchadnezzar: I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of heaven I will place my throne, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:12). The eighth law: The pledge should be returned to the debtor. Not to all debtors, otherwise there will be many opportunities to receive pledges, which will become a material of wealth: but to the debtor about whom it is written in the law, that he is poor, and he has put up his own clothing as a pledge, and he should receive covering before sunset (Deut. XXIV), so that he does not cry out to the Lord, who is the avenger of his injury, from the torment of cold. But if, according to the following things, we should give bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with clothing (Exod. II): how much more should we return what is his own, if indeed the poverty of the debtor is without doubt? We can also return a pledge to a debtor, when we, who are joined by love, and who owe mutual charity to each other, return their pledge, holding nothing of their debt against them. The ninth place is this: He has not seized anything by force, nor has he committed robbery according to the Septuagint. The Apostle speaks about robbers, saying that among other sinners one should not even partake of such food: and all robbery is mixed with violence (1 Corinthians 6). If violence has been used, plundering is not profitable. Moreover, there is also a holy violence and a desirable plundering, of which the Gospel also writes: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force (Matthew 11:12). It is also spoken of by Judas, the brother of James: And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire (Jude 23). And on the contrary, the opposing powers hastily seek to plunder the prey of those whom they seize, for their own destruction. Which means that Jacob says: A wild beast has devoured him: a wild beast has taken Joseph away (Genesis XXXVII, 33). Therefore, the sheep of the Lord that follow him are not taken from his hands. And he himself says: The Father's gift is greater than all, and no one can take it from the hand ((Al. my addition)) of my Father (John X, 29). From this it is clear that there is one power, virtue, and substance of the Father and the Son. For if no one can take from the Son's hand what the Father has given, and these same things are in the Father's hand that are not taken from him, it is clearly proven that all things are common to the Father and the Son, and that the Son holds the Father in his hand, just as the things that belong to the Son are held in the Father's hand. 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). 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 twelfth commandment holds: And he shall not lend at usury, or as the Septuagint translated, he shall not give his money for usury. In Hebrew, usury is prohibited for all kinds of species; in the Septuagint, only money. According to what is written in the fourteenth Psalm: 'He who does not give his money to interest' (Psalm XIV, 5). And how is it said: 'You shall not lend to your father at interest, but you shall lend to others at interest' (Deuteronomy XV, 6 and XXIII, 10). But see the progression: In the beginning of the Law, interest is only forbidden among brothers; in the prophets, usury is prohibited for everyone, as Ezekiel says: 'He who does not give his money to interest.' Furthermore, in the Gospel, there is an increase in virtue, with the Lord commanding: 'Lend to those from whom you do not expect to receive' (Luke VI, 35). It follows in the thirteenth place: And he shall not receive anything more. Some people think that usury is only in money. But divine Scripture, foreseeing this, takes away the excess of everything, so that you do not receive more than what you have given. Usury is commonly demanded in the fields for wheat and barley, wine and oil, and other kinds of produce, as the divine word calls it, abundance. For example, in the time of winter, we give ten bushels, and in the harvest, we receive fifteen, which is more than half. Whoever considers himself very just will receive a greater portion, a fourth plus, and they usually argue and say: I gave one bushel, which produced ten bushels. Is it not just that I should receive a half bushel more from my own, since he, by my generosity, has nine and a half from my own? Let us not be deceived, says the Apostle, God is not ridiculed (Galatians VI, 7). Therefore, let the merciful usurer respond to us briefly: has he given to the one who has, or to the one who has not? If he had, he certainly should not have given, but he gave as if he did not have. So why does he demand more as if from someone who has? Others are accustomed to receiving small gifts in exchange for borrowed money of various kinds, and they do not understand that this is called interest and excess, whatever that may be, if they receive more from what they have given. The fourteenth degree is: From wickedness, he says, he shall turn away his hand, so as to flee from all wickedness in every work. For wickedness is committed not only with the hand, but also with other members, as Solomon says: Remove wicked lips far from you (Prov. IV, 24). And in the Psalms: They speak iniquity on high (Ps. 72:8). The foot also runs to iniquity, and the eye if it desires another man's wife, let him not be its imitator, of whom it is said: He has not done iniquity, and deceit has not been found in his mouth (Isa. 53:9). Therefore, we are commanded to make friends for ourselves with the wicked mammon, who may receive us into eternal dwellings. The fifteenth is: He shall make a true judgement between man and man, or his neighbor. What seems to signify the same as first, where it is written: If he shall be just, and shall do judgment; but with the addition of the truth of judgment: which makes a distinction between man and man, or his neighbor, it is observed to have the force of virtues. Hence also in the beginning of Proverbs, after many precepts, the correction of judgment is inferred. To know, he says, wisdom and discipline, and to understand the words of prudence, to receive the subtlety of speeches, and to know true justice, and after all to correct judgment (Prov. 1:2-3). Therefore the Apostle (I Cor. VI) rebukes those who are established in the Church, because they have disputes among themselves, and the least esteemed is chosen to judge between man and man, who destroys what is small and reaches up to the mature man; and yet he needs a higher judgment in order to attain to the truth of judgement. It follows in the sixteenth place: He shall walk in my precepts. And in the seventeenth: He shall keep my judgments and my precepts, to do them, and to keep them. Both of which have manifold understanding, if we are willing to replicate all the commandments of the law, in which the precepts of the Lord are, and in which the justifications are said to be. The one hundred and eighteenth psalm is full of commandments and justifications, and in part the eighteenth, in which it is written: The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes. In which it is asked how in this same prophet God said: I have given them non-good justifications in which they will not live in them (Isaiah 28). The easy and fuller answer is in the following, that the Jews who follow the letter die, and the Christians who understand the life-giving spirit live. It is a long task if we want to prove with testimonies where the precepts of the Lord are said to be, and where justifications are said to be, and in what particularities, or diversities, or obscurities they are involved. And it is said in the present place: Here is the righteous one, he will live his life, says the Lord God. Whoever does these things, and does not do those things, will not be punished for the sins of the father, but will live by their own virtues.

The Jews, in Ezekiel's time, complained of God's dealing hardly with them in punishing them for the sins of their forefathers, Eze 18:1, Eze 18:2; their temporal calamities having been long threatened as the consequence of the national guilt, (Jer 15:4, etc.); and, from the general complexion of this chapter, it appears that the Jews so interpreted the second commandment of the Decalogue and other passages of like import, as if the sins of the forefathers were visited upon the children, independently of the moral conduct of the latter, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. To remove every foundation for such an unworthy idea of the Divine government, God assures them, with an oath, that he had no respect of persons, Eze 18:3, Eze 18:4; strongly intimating that the great mysteries in Providence, (mysterious only on account of the limited capacity of man), are results of the most impartial administration of justice; and that this would be particularly manifested in the rewards and punishments of another life; when every ligament that at present connects societies and nations together shall be dissolved, and each person receive according to his work, and bear his own burden. This is illustrated by a variety of examples: such as that of a just or righteous man, Eze 18:5-9; his wicked son, Eze 18:10-13; and again the just son of this wicked person, Eze 18:14-20. Then a wicked man repenting, and finding mercy, whose former wickedness shall be no impediment to his salvation, Eze 18:21-23; and a righteous man revolting, and dying in his sins, whose former righteousness shall be of no avail, Eze 18:24. The conduct of the Divine Providence is then vindicated, Eze 18:25-29; and all persons, without any exception, most earnestly exhorted to repentance, Eze 18:30, Eze 18:31; because the Lord hath no pleasure in the death of the sinner, Eze 18:32. As the whole of this chapter is taken up with the illustration of a doctrine nearly connected with the comfort of man, and the honor of the Divine government, the prophet, with great propriety, lays aside his usual mode of figure and allegory, and treats his subject with the utmost plainness and perspicuity.

10. Hath not given forth upon usury - בנשך לא יתן beneshech lo yitten. נשך nasach signifies to bite; usury is properly so termed, because it bites into and devours the principal. Usury signifies, with us, exacting unlawful interest for money; and taking the advantage of a man's necessities to advance him cash on exorbitant profit. This bites the receiver in his property, and the lender in his salvation. 11. Neither hath taken any increase - In lending has not required more than was lent; and has not taken that product of the cash lent, which was more than the value for its use. This may be a part of the tenth article. 12. That hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity - Never associates with those who act contrary to justice and equity; his hand or influence being never found among evil workers. 13. Hath executed true judgment between man and man - Being neither swayed by prejudice, fear, nor favor. These thirteen points concern his social and civil relations.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOUR GRAPES REPROVED. (Eze. 18:1-32) fathers . . . eaten sour grapes, . . . children's teeth . . . set on edge--Their unbelieving calumnies on God's justice had become so common as to have assumed a proverbial form. The sin of Adam in eating the forbidden fruit, visited on his posterity, seems to have suggested the peculiar form; noticed also by Jeremiah (Jer 31:29); and explained in Lam 5:7, "Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities." They mean by "the children," themselves, as though they were innocent, whereas they were far from being so. The partial reformation effected since Manasseh's wicked reign, especially among the exiles at Chebar, was their ground for thinking so; but the improvement was only superficial and only fostered their self-righteous spirit, which sought anywhere but in themselves the cause of their calamities; just as the modern Jews attribute their present dispersion, not to their own sins, but to those of their forefathers. It is a universal mark of corrupt nature to lay the blame, which belongs to ourselves, on others and to arraign the justice of God. Compare Gen 3:12, where Adam transfers the blame of his sin to Eve, and even to God, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

usury--literally, "biting." The law forbade the Jew to take interest from brethren but permitted him to do so from a foreigner (Exo 22:25; Deu 23:19-20; Neh 5:7; Psa 15:5). The letter of the law was restricted to the Jewish polity, and is not binding now; and indeed the principle of taking interest was even then sanctioned, by its being allowed in the case of a foreigner. The spirit of the law still binds us, that we are not to take advantage of our neighbor's necessities to enrich ourselves, but be satisfied with moderate, or even no, interest, in the case of the needy. increase--in the case of other kinds of wealth; as "usury" refers to money (Lev 25:36). withdrawn . . . hand, &c.--Where he has the opportunity and might find a plausible plea for promoting his own gain at the cost of a wrong to his neighbor, he keeps back his hand from what selfishness prompts. judgment--justice.