Ezekiel 46:17

Eze 46:17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them.

Ver. 17. But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants.] As Alexander the Great, who, going to subdue a great part of the habitable world, gave away to his servants almost all he had, and when one of his officers asked him what he would leave for himself? he said, Hope. Messiah the prince, besides his choicest gifts ( Dona throni) to his dear children, giveth gifts unto men, even to the rebellious also; {Psa 68:18} these are common gifts ( Dona scabelli), temporal favours, external privileges. See Mat 7:22-23; Mat 25:14-30 Luk 19:12-27, &c. But as "the servant abideth not in the house for ever," as the son doth; {Joh 8:35} so these gifts to servants, but for the behoof and benefit of his sons, are but till the year of liberty, or jubilee, till the last day at utmost. {Lev 25:10} Then shall the wicked give a dreadful account of all, with the whole world flaming about their ears.

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.

Which was at the Jubilee, Lev. 25:9.

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

Verse 17. To the year of liberty] That is, to the year of jubilee, called the year of liberty, because there was then a general release. All servants had their liberty, and all alienated estates returned to their former owners.

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

17. year of liberty] In Jer_34:14 the year of liberty is that of the freeing of the bondservant in the seventh year; and this year may be meant here. Cf. Isa_61:1. Otherwise the year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year, is referred to, when all landed property that had been alienated reverted to its original owner, Lev_25:10; Lev_27:24.

but his inheritance … them] lit. but (or, only as for) his inheritance, his sons, it shall be theirs, i.e. the portion of his inheritance which the prince may bestow on his sons shall remain theirs, without reverting to the prince (Eze_46:16). LXX., Syr. more clearly; the inheritance of his sons, it shall be theirs.

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.

Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession,.... Christ, the Prince, will never do this; he will never take any part of his people's inheritance from them, or thrust them out of the possession of any benefit or blessing of grace; they have chosen that good part which shall never be taken from them, Luk 10:42, this is said, not as a direction to the prince, as a law enjoined him, or a caution to him against oppression; but as expressing his clemency, grace, and goodness to his subjects, and their safety and security under him:

but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession; whatever Christ gives his sons, whether present grace, or future glory, it is out of his own possession; for all that the Father has are his; all the blessings of goodness are with him; all the fulness of grace is in him; the eternal inheritance is reserved with him in heaven; and it is all his own he gives, and not another's:

that my people be not scattered every man from his possession; or, "that therefore my people may not be scattered every" "men from his possession" (o); because what is given them, and they are in possession of, was Christ's own, and not another's; and which he had a right to dispose of, and therefore they need not fear being dispossessed by another claimant.

(o) "ideo ne dispergantur populus meus", Starckius.

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

Sons. If any portion of his land was made over to them, it still remained in the family; but if any other had a present of it, the land must revert to the royal family, agreeably to the law, Leviticus xxv. 10. (Calmet) --- This insinuates that works done by the true children of God, in the state of grace, merit an eternal reward, while moral good works performed in the state of sin, can only have a temporal one. (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).

Of his inheritance; of any part or parcel of the crown land, or the prince’s inheritance.

To one of his servants; whether such servant be, strictly taken, a servant or bondman or in more large sense any of his servants in the court, and in office about it.

The year of liberty; the year of jubilee, as Lev 25:10,13,28.

To the prince; or his heirs, if the prince be dead.

His inheritance: this may be understood either of the prince or the servant. Either thus, though the land by gift go back to the prince or his heirs from the servant, yet what lands this servant had of his own inheritance shall descend to the heirs of that servant, and be theirs: or else thus, whatever lands of the prince are given to servants, by gift, shall at the year of jubilee revert to the sons of the prince, who shall repossess them, forasmuch as they are lands of inheritance, and of right belong to the heir.

For them; and for theirs after them.

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

The second regulation. Should the prince, however, bestow a portion of his inheritance on one of his servants, what was thus bestowed should not belong to that servant in perpetuity, but should be regarded simply as a temporary loan which should be his till the year of liberty, tnv rwOrDh i.e. the year of free flowing general comp. Exo_30:23, rwOrDArm pure myrrh (Authorized Version) or flowing myrrh (Revised Version) hence the year of release; after which it should return to the prince. Smend thinks Ezekiel could hardly have had in view the year of jubilee, (Lev_25:10 Lev_27:24) else he would not have employed the term "liberty," which Jeremiah (Jer_34:8, Jer_34:15, Jer_34:17) uses to denote the freedom regained by Hebrew bondmen in the seventh year. (Exo_21:2; Deu_15:12) But

(1) the seventh year was only a year of the release of bondmen, not of the reversion of property, and to this rather than to that Ezekiel refers.

(2) The year of jubilee might properly be called the "year of liberty," since in it both slaves were emancipated and property was liberated. And

(3) Ezekiel"s phraseology is not framed (nor is Jeremiah"s) in imitation of either Exodus or Deuteronomy, the latter of which in particular speaks of "the year of release" (hF; miCh tn but adheres closely to the style of Leviticus, which, in fact, it presupposes. rwOrDhtnv can only signify the year of the release, i.e. the well-known year of emancipation. The last clause should be rendered, as in the Revised Version, "As for his inheritance (generally), it shall be for his sons," or, as Keil translates, "Only his inheritance it is," i.e. the prince"s; "as for his sons, it shall be for them."

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

His inheritance - Whatever lands of the prince are given to servants, shall at the year of Jubilee revert to the sons of the prince. For them - And to theirs after them.

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

the year of liberty the Jubilee year.

and then it comes back [Heb. וְשָּׁבָת], like וְשָּׁבָה.

only to his sons shall his inheritance belong [Only his inheritance has sons, to them it shall be.] This is like: only to his sons shall his inheritance belong, and it shall not be given permanently to anyone else.

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.