Ezekiel 16:49

Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Ver. 49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,] i.e., Haughty mindedness and high conceitedness of their own surpassing excellence and stable felicity. This was the first firebrand that set Sodom on fire.

Fulness of bread.] Gourmandise and surquedry. This fulness bred forgetfulness, and this saturity security.

“ Luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis:

Nec facile est aequa commoda mente pati. ”

And abundance of idleness.] Tranquillitas tranquillitatis, rest of rest; and this abused to idleness, deep idleness, which is the devil’s pillow, and the mother of many mischiefs; for he shall not but do naughtily that does nothing.

Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor.] Inhospitable they were, and unmerciful. The two angels might have lain in the streets for them; neither would they let them rest when Lot had lodged them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 16:49-50. Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, &c. — The inhabitants of Sodom “abused that plenty which God gave them to pride and idleness, which gave rise to those enormities that they afterward were guilty of. The Scripture takes notice of the fruitfulness of the soil where Sodom stood,” Gen 13:10. — Lowth. Such is the depravity of human nature, that plenty, and a freedom from toil and danger, often prove people’s ruin; and therefore, if we were truly wise, we should be as much afraid of prosperity as we are of any of those supposed evils which are the frequent objects of our fears. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy — Pride and luxury make men expensive in their way of living, and regardless of the wants and miseries of others. And they were haughty — Hebrew, ותגבהינה, they were high, lofty, arrogant in their deportment toward good men, vexing Lot’s righteous soul, toward the angels, whom they assaulted in his house, and toward God himself, all whose laws they trampled under foot, Gen 13:13; and before whom they committed abominations of the most heinous and detestable kind; arriving by degrees to the height of impiety and wickedness. And, indeed, when pride has got the ascendency in a man he is in the high road to all abominations. And therefore I took them away as I saw good — Destroyed their cities, people, and country, by a most tremendous, unexpected, and unexampled judgment.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He allegeth these four vices, pride, excess, idleness and contempt of the poor, as four principal causes of such abomination, wherefore they were so horribly punished, Gen. 19:24.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

pride--inherited by Moab, her offspring (Isa 16:6; Jer 48:26), and by Ammon (Jer 49:4). God, the heart-searcher, here specifies as Sodom's sin, not merely her notorious lusts, but the secret spring of them, "pride" flowing from "fullness of bread," caused by the fertility of the soil (Gen 13:10), and producing "idleness."

abundance of idleness--literally, "the secure carelessness of ease" or idleness.

neither did she strengthen . . . the poor--Pride is always cruel; it arrogates to itself all things, and despises brethren, for whose needs it therefore has no feeling; as Moab had not for the outcast Jews (Isa 16:3-4; Jer 48:27; Luk 16:19-21; Jam 5:1-5).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 49. This was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom] If we are to take this place literally, Sodom was guilty of other crimes besides that for which she appears to have been especially punished; in addition to her unnatural crime, She is charged with pride, luxury, idleness, and uncharitableness; and these were sufficient to sink any city to the bottomless pit.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Here God begins to show the reason why he extenuated the wickedness of Sodom in comparison with that of his own people: for if he had spoken generally, without explaining the counsel of God, his language would have been incredible, and so would have been ineffectual. But now God shows that he did not pronounce rashly what we heard before, namely, that the Jews were worse than the Sodomites. How so? for this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, says he, first pride, then fullness of bread, and luxury in which they were in the habit of indulging, and of drowning themselves in ease to enjoy a long peace; afterwards, they did not seize the hand of the poor. Now he adds —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(49) Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness.—The description strikes at the causes rather than the overt acts of sin, and the unnatural crimes which are always associated in our minds with the name of Sodom are not mentioned. It is noticeable, however, that the distinct sin which is mentioned in this passage is the negative one too common in all ages, “neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

49. abundance of idleness] prosperous ease, as R.V., lit. prosperity of quiet. Sodom lived in security and suffered no calamities, as Jer_48:11 says of Moab, “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees; he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity.” On “fulness of bread” and consequent pride and forgetfulness of God cf. Deu_32:15; Hos_13:6; Pro_30:7.

strengthen the hand] Or, take hold of the hand, i.e. to help or rescue. Prosperity led to pride and inhumanity and then to abominations (Eze_16:50).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they were haughty,.... Sodom and her daughters, the inhabitants of that place, and the cities adjacent; they lifted up themselves above God and man; they were above regarding the poor and needy; and were elated and swelled with their plenty and prosperity, and behaved very insolently, both to fellow citizens and strangers; see Gen 19:4;

and committed abomination before me; perhaps referring to that sin, which has its name from them; a sin abominable to God, and scandalous to human nature; and which they committed openly and publicly, neither fearing God, nor regarding men; and are said to be sinners before the Lord, Gen 13:13;

therefore I took them away as I saw good; both as to time and manner, as he in his sovereignty thought most fit and proper, by raining fire and brimstone on them, and setting them forth as an example of the vengeance of eternal fire: or, "when I saw" (c); their sin and wickedness, as soon as he saw it; see Gen 18:20. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it, "as thou sawest", or "hast seen"; appealing to the Jews themselves, who were very well acquainted with the fact; for the destruction of Sodom was notorious and flagrant.

(c) "cum vidi", Cocceius; so some in Vatablus; "postea quam", Tigurine version, Piscator, Starckius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sodom, &c. That is, these were the steps by which the Sodomites came to fall into those abominations for which they were destroyed. For pride, gluttony, and idleness, are the high road to all kinds of lust; especially when they are accompanied with a neglect of the works of mercy. (Challoner) --- These crimes alone are great enough; (Luke xvi. 19.) and the prophets never accuse the Jews of unnatural lust. Hence Ezechiel takes no notice of it here, as he probably refers to the manners of the Moabites, &c., who were then living, Isaias xvi. 6. (Calmet) --- Abundance and idleness produce crimes; temperance and labour bring forth good fruit. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The iniquity; iniquity, either for iniquities, or the fountain and occasion of all amongst the Sodomites.

Pride; a haughty mind, swelled with the excellency, beauty, and grandeur of their state, and vaunting of it above their neighbours.

Fulness of bread, i.e. luxury, and riotous excess in eating and drinking: their plenty was not their sin, but they made it occasion of sin to themselves; they were very intemperate in their diet.

Abundance of idleness; every thing so plentiful, that they little regarded to employ themselves, but were idle and slothful, or deeply secure in their peace, plenty, and honour, neither feared God’s wrath or man’s sword; the first was the fault of particular sinners, the latter was the sin and fault of the community.

Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy; she refused to help strangers, as appeareth in the history of the angels’ entertainment, Ge 19; nor was she mindful of helping the poor with counsel and defence; they were unmerciful and hard-hearted toward the poor amongst them. This was a great sin to those that abounded in wealth, as the Sodomites did.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

49, 50. This was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom — Pride, and wealth, and abundance of idleness (R.V., “prosperous ease”), indifference to the poor and haughtiness (religious bravado) toward God — this was her iniquity, and for this the Sodomites were destroyed “when I saw it” (Gen_18:21); or “according to what I saw.” — Plumptre. But Jehovah was never “married” to Sodom as to Jerusalem. Sodom never deserted a divine husband whose kindness had exalted her to heaven. Even Sodom was not guilty of that.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 49, 50. It is noticeable that what we commonly speak of as the specific sin of the cities of the plain is not mentioned here. The prophet fixes on the point which made Sodom a luxurious and sensual city, the graver evil being just hinted at in the word abominations, and as the outcome of the evil tendencies. So in like manner the special sin of Samaria, the worship of the calves, is not named, but taken for granted. (For fulness of bread, see Pro_30:9: Hos_13:6; Deu_8:12) Prosperity and luxury in her case, as in that of other wealthy cities, hardened the hearts of men against the poor and needy. There was probably a sufficient reason for the omission which has been pointed out. It was wiser to dwell on the sins which were common to the two cities rather than on the vice which, though it existed in Jerusalem, (2Ki_23:7) was probably not prevalent there. As I saw good; better, according to what I saw. The word "good" is not in the Hebrew, and the words apparently refer to Gen_18:21.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This was - The fountain and occasion of all. Fulness of bread - Excess in eating and drinking. Strengthen - She refused to help strangers.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues to speak about Jerusalem as if the city were his unfaithful wife. The city represents the people who live there. (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)

arrogant in her leisure, careless and unconcerned about anything

Yahweh describes Sodom as a rich woman who has more than enough food and lives in security. (See: Metaphor)

She did not strengthen the hands of the poor and needy people

Here the word "hands" represents the people who work with their hands. The words "poor" and "needy" emphasize that these are people who cannot help themselves. AT: "She did not help the people who could not help themselves" (See: Synecdoche and Doublet)

translationWords

sin

Sodom

arrogant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.