Ezekiel 45:8

Eze 45:8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and [the rest of] the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Ver. 8. And my princes shall no more oppress my people.] As Samuel foretold they would do, {1Sa 8:11-18} and accordingly they did. But in the Christian commonwealth it should be better, as indeed it was in the days of Constantine the Great, Valentinian, and Theodosius, - which three godly emperors called themselves the vassals of Christ, - and is now, blessed be God, among us at this day.

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.

45:8-9 One tangible expression of the Lord’s kingly rule was that he distributed the land to the prince as well as to the people. The prince was assigned a large enough piece of his own land to meet his needs and to allow him to support the ministry of the Temple without having to oppress and rob the people.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. My princes shall no more oppress my people] By exorbitant taxes to maintain profligate courts, or subsidize other powers to help to keep up a system of tyranny in the earth. The former princes even robbed the temple of God to give subsidies to other states.

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

(8) My princes shall no more oppress.—The use of the plural does not imply that more than one prince should reign at a time, nor is it intended to include the family of the prince; but as everything in the future is described in terms of the past, so the royal authority is conceived of as vested in a succession of rulers, although we have been already told that there shall be but one king over them for ever (Eze_34:23-24; Eze_37:24-25). The declaration that the “princes shall no more oppress my people” follows naturally on the assignment of this portion. Former kings of Israel had no domain given them, and this had tempted them to acquire private property by violence and extortion. The people had been forewarned of this (1Sa_8:14), had often experienced it in their history, and had heard the rebukes of their prophets on account of it (e.g., Jer_22:13-19).

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

8. In the land … possession] In the land it shall be to him for a possession, lit. in respect of the land. Others: for a domain it shall be …, for a possession. The art. must then be omitted, and the use of “land” in this sense is unnatural.

my princes] The language my is unusual. In Eze_45:9, “princes of Israel,” and so LXX. here. It is possible that Israel was represented in MS. merely by the initial letter, which is the same as the last letter of “princes” (cons.), and that one of the letters fell out.

the rest of the land] Read: oppress my people, but shall give the land to the house. On the oppressions of the princes, cf. Eze_22:25; Jer_22:17.

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.

In the land shall be his possession in Israel,.... Or, "as for the land, it shall be his for a possession in Israel" (a); the people of the land shall be a people for possession, as in Pe1 2:9 or a peculiar people of his throughout all Israel; all the spiritual Israel, whether Jew or Gentile, shall be Christ's possession and inheritance:

and my princes shall no more oppress my people; neither ecclesiastical princes, as the Scribes and Pharisees formerly, nor civil magistrates; not the one with false doctrines, carnal rites and ceremonies; nor the other with heavy taxes, and rigorous exactions:

and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes; the spiritual and mystical Israel, Jews and Gentiles, who shall now inherit the earth, and possess all temporal good things, as well as spiritual ones.

(a) "de terra vel quod attinet ad terram, sive terrae (illud), erit in possessionem in Israel", Starckius.

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

Rob. Instead of their right, (1 Kings viii. 11.) the source of continual vexations, a certain revenue is specified, ver. 13.

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).

In the land; either in that portion of land set out for him, or, as it is added, in Israel, i.e. in the land of Israel.

My princes; who own my favour in their advancement, and my law in their government. All princes are in some sort God’s princes, but all do not regard God as sovereign Lord of them and their people; but God did raise up such at the return out of Babylon, who were and did recognise themselves God’s princes.

Shall no more oppress: both Ezekiel and other prophets did reprove the injustices, cruelties, and oppressive methods of the kings of Israel, and yet they took not off the yoke; but it shall be better after the days of Babylonish captivity are ended.

The rest; after God had his portion, which was that the priests and Levites had, after the city and the prince have theirs, the remainder is to be given to the people.

They; the persons that are officers appointed to divide the land.

The house of Israel; two tribes and ten tribes.

According to their tribes, to the number of the tribes, and their right; we must be restored to them, or they compensated with an equal value.

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

My princes shall no more oppress my people. That Israel in former times had suffered from the oppressions and exactions of her kings, from Solomon downwards, as Samuel had predicted she would, (1Sa_8:10-18) was matter of history. (see 1Ki_12:4, 1Ki_12:10, 1Ki_12:11; 2Ki_23:35) and was perhaps partly explained, though not justified, by the fact that the kings had no crown lands assigned them for their support. This excuse, however, for regal tyranny should in future cease, as a sufficient portion of land should be allocated to the prince and his successors, who accordingly should give, or leave, the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes. The use of "princes" does not show, as Hengstenberg asserts, that "under the ideal unity of the prince in Ezekiel, a numerical plurality is included," and that "these who understand by the prince merely the Messiah must here do violence to the text;" but simply, as Kliefoth explains, that Ezekiel was thinking of Israel"s past kings, and contrasting with them the rulers Israel might have in the future, without affirming that these should be many or one. (see on Eze_44:3)

HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 8. Princes not oppressors.

In the apportionment of the restored and newly occupied territory there was need for a display of a just and equitable spirit. That there was some danger of another and contrary spirit is evident from the admonition here addressed by the prophet in the name of the Lord to those in power and authority.

I THE SPHERE OF OPPRESSION. The oppressor may exercise his might in violation of the principles of righteousness; either

(1) against the personal liberty, or

(2) against the property and possessions, of the oppressed.

II THE MOTIVE TO OPPRESSION. This is almost always selfishness, the desire of personal enrichment, aggrandizement, or power, to attain which the rights of another are treated as of no account.

III THE OPPORTUNITY OF OPPRESSION. It is no merit on the part of the obscure, the impoverished, the friendless, that they abstain from oppression, for the simple reason that it is not in their power; they may be oppressed, but they cannot be oppressors. But those in high station, especially princes, whose power is arbitrary and unchecked, have many opportunities of wronging their subjects and inferiors. In a country like our own, where public rights are secured, and where the monarch acts of necessity within constitutional limits, it is not easy to understand how in other states of society the poor and uninfluential may be at the mercy of the great.

IV THE SIN OF OPPRESSION. This appears from considering the fact that the distinctions obtaining amongst men are to a large extent accidental and artificial. It is for the welfare of society that certain individuals should be entrusted with power; when that power is abused, the very purpose of such distinctions is violated. The law of him who is King of kings, and the principles of whose government are justice and mercy, is opposed to the exercise of political power in an unrighteous and inconsiderate manner.

V THE REMEDY FOR OPPRESSION. This is set forth in a very striking manner in the passage before us: "My princes shall no more oppress my people." The fact that both superior and inferior, both governors and subjects, are the Lord"s, is adduced as the strongest argument against oppression. If both alike are the Lord"s, the unreasonableness is apparent of one class treating the other with harshness and injustice. In fact, religion is here, as elsewhere, the true guide of human conduct, the true corrective of human ills. Let men first consider their obligations to the Giver of all, their responsibility to the Ruler of all, and such considerations will preserve them from wronging those who are, with them, subjects of the same Sovereign and children of the same Father. All alike are his, and there is a community of interest amongst all who acknowledge a common allegiance and a common indebtedness. In such a case, oppression is not only unrighteous, it is unreasonable and monstrous. T.

Human oppression.

princes shall no more oppress my people." God is now upon the throne, (see Eze_43:7) and there is no room for an earthly sovereign. The highest ruler is the "prince;" but that word stands for human authority and power, whatever be the name by which it is indicated. The promise has a reflex significance; it points to the evils which had been in past times. And Israel would have been fortunate indeed if it had escaped the common doom of oppression at the hand of its kings and princes. Many and sad are the sorrows which this poor world of ours has endured at the hand of those who should have lived to bless and not to curse it. The view, or review, is melancholy in the last degree; surely it is only too true that

Man"s inhumanity to man Makes countless ages mourn.

I ITS VARIOUS FORMS. These are:

1. Impressment. The children of Israel were plainly and powerfully forewarned of this evil. (1Sa_8:11-17)

2. Taxation. It was not long before the land groaned beneath the weight of the sovereign"s levies. (2Sa_10:4)

3. Robbery of individual right, and invasion of individual liberty. It needs but to mention the case of David"s sad defection from right, and Ahab"s senseless covetousness and weak yielding to his truculent queen, to be reminded how kings, even of Judah and Israel, defrauded men of their dearest rights. And if we extend the meaning of the word "prince" to any one in authority, or in power, or in possession, we think at once of the terrible oppressions, in this worst form, that have dishonored the lands, darkened the homes, and blighted the lives of men under every sky and in every age of the world.

4. Violence.

II ITS ESSENTIAL INIQUITY AND ENORMITY. For what is it, in truth? It is a shameful abuse of power. It is nothing less than a man taking from the hand of God the power or opportunity which he gave him in order that he might use for the good, the elevation, the happiness of his kind, and turning that power into an instrument of mischief and of sorrow. It is a heartless and shameless exaggeration by a man of his own personal importance, as if his comfort were everything, and an equally heartless and shameless disregard of the wishes and the wants, the joys and the sorrows, the hearts and the homes of other people. It is a guilty perversion of the purpose and debasement of the gift of God.

III THE DEEP DIVINE DISAPPROVAL OF IT. How could the Divine Father of all human spirits see one of his children wronging, oppressing a number of his fellows, weighting them with grievous burdens or robbing them of the essential rights of their manhood or their womanhood, without deep, Divine indignation and sorrow? (see Exo_3:7; 2Ki_13:4; Isa_1:23, 24 49:25; Jer_22:17; Hos_4:18; and Eze_22:27)

IV THE DIVINE PROMISE UNDER THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. The time shall come when princes and powers "shall no more oppress." When Jesus Christ shall exercise his benignant sway over all nations, when his spirit of righteousness and of love shall fill the hearts and regulate the lives of men, then the hard hand of oppression will be taken off every shoulder; the cruel exactions shall cease; the spirit of the Christian poet will prevail, when he says

I would rather be myself the slave And wear the bonds than fasten them on him;

cruelty shall give place to kindness, and selfishness to considerateness; and instead of men asking How much can I get out of the multitude to fill my purse and serve my purpose? they will ask What can I do to enlighten, to enrich, to elevate, to bless? C.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the house of Israel.

This land will be property for the prince in Israel

"This portion of the land will be the property of the prince among the people of Israel"

translationWords

oppress

people of God

tribe

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

In the land he shall have it for a possession [Heb. לָאָרֶץ Jonathan renders: This land shall be for the prince as a possession.

shall no longer defraud [Heb. יוֹנוּ,] an expression for monetary fraud; they take away their inheritance forcibly for they rob their inherited property

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.