Ezekiel 22:7
in Ezekiel 22Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood
on Ezekiel 22:6-12
The list runs through every rank and relation the covenant law protected. Wesley reads the list as a point by point breach of the commandments. Gill notes the closing count, usury and extortion practiced on neighbours, and hast forgotten me, ties every social sin back to the same forgetting.
This site's exposition
Father and mother are treated with contempt
The fifth commandment stands first in this list, and Deuteronomy 27:16 had set a curse on the man who dishonors father or mother. Exodus 22:21 and 22 guarded the foreign resident, the fatherless and the widow. Henry notes that the princes were to protect the injured.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 22, Verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, do you not judge the city of blood, and show her all her abominations? And say: Thus says the Lord God: The city that sheds blood within herself, so that her time may come, and that has made idols against herself to defile herself. In your blood that was shed, you have sinned, and you have defiled yourself with your idols that you have made.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): In thee have the children set light by their father and mother, mocked them, cursed them, and despised to obey them, which was a sign of a more than ordinary corruption of nature as well as manners, and a disposition to all manner of disorder, Isa. iii. Those that set light by their parents are in the highway to all wickedness.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
In thee have they set light by father and mother,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In thee have they set light - The children do not reverence their parents. Parental affection and filial respect do not exist among you. The stranger is not only not succoured, but he is oppressed. The widows and fatherless are vexed by wrongs and exactions.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֤ב | ʾav | father | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וָאֵם֙ | vaem | and mother | H517 → | 220 times |
| הֵקַ֣לּוּ | hekalu | they have treated with contempt | H7043 → | 82 times |
| בָ֔ךְ | vakh | in you | ||
| לַגֵּ֛ר | lager | to the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| עָשׂ֥וּ | ʾasu | they have acted | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בַעֹ֖שֶׁק | vaoshek | with <the> oppression | H6233 → | 15 times |
| בְּתוֹכֵ֑ךְ | betokhekh | in [the] midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| יָת֥וֹם | yatom | fatherless one | H3490 → | |
| וְאַלְמָנָ֖ה | vealmanah | and widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| ה֥וֹנוּ | honu | they have maltreated | H3238 → | 20 times |
| בָֽךְ׃ | vakh | in you |
אָ֤בfather
ʾavH1 →1212 times
וָאֵם֙and mother
vaemH517 →220 times
הֵקַ֣לּוּthey have treated with contempt
hekaluH7043 →82 times
בָ֔ךְin you
vakh
לַגֵּ֛רto the sojourner
lagerH1616 →92 times
עָשׂ֥וּthey have acted
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
בַעֹ֖שֶׁקwith <the> oppression
vaoshekH6233 →15 times
בְּתוֹכֵ֑ךְin [the] midst of you
betokhekhH8432 →418 times
יָת֥וֹםfatherless one
yatomH3490 →
וְאַלְמָנָ֖הand widow
vealmanahH490 →56 times
ה֥וֹנוּthey have maltreated
honuH3238 →20 times
בָֽךְ׃in you
vakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Malachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
it leads to
- James 5:8–9
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 27:19
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- James 5:8–9
Through
Leviticus 20:9If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
it leads to
- Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 7:10
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Exodus 21:17
Through
Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:3
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 19:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.