Ezekiel 22:12

taken gifts i.e. bribes, said of judges, Exodus 23:8; Isaiah 1:23; Micah 3:11 Cf. ch. Ezekiel 18:13; Ezekiel 23:35.

by extortion oppression, or violence, as Ezekiel 22:7. The vices here enumerated follow one another without any strict connexion. 1. The despotic conduct of the princes, whose power is their god (Habakkuk 1:11), Ezekiel 22:6; Ezekiel 22:2. Irreverence to parents, and want of compassion for the unprotected and helpless, Ezekiel 22:7; Ezekiel 22:3. Irreligion, Ezekiel 22:8; Ezekiel 9:4. Immoralities and incest, Ezekiel 22:10. And finally, greed of gain that overreaches and oppresses, Ezekiel 22:12. The picture is dark enough, and is unmistakeably that of a people whose decline is incurable, and its time at hand (Ezekiel 22:3), cf. Jeremiah 5:7; Jeremiah 6:13; Jeremiah 7:5-6; Jeremiah 22:3; Hosea 7:7; Micah 6:10.