Charles Ellicott Commentary


Charles Ellicott Commentary
"In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow." — Ezekiel 22:7 (ASV)
By father and mother. —Filial respect was one of the most frequently enjoined precepts of the law (Leviticus 20:9, and other passages). So the other sins mentioned in this and the following verses are transgressions of special Divine commands. Dealt by oppression is “dealt oppressively” (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 24:14, and other passages); for the father less and widow (Exodus 22:22–24, and other passages).
The despising of holy things and the profanation of the sabbaths were the constant subject of the warnings of the law; tale-bearers are forbidden in Leviticus 19:16; eating upon the mountains (which means joining in the idol sacrifices) is often reproved by this and the other prophets; and the sins of lewdness enumerated are all specifically forbidden in Leviticus 18:20, as well as elsewhere; while the various sins arising from covetousness, mentioned in Ezekiel 22:12, had been constantly denounced both by the law and in the warnings of the prophets. The expression hast forgotten me is at once the root of all these sins, and in itself the climax of all.