6-8. When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do
a trespass against the Lord--This is a wrong or injury done by one man
to the property of another, and as it is called "a trespass against the
Lord," it is implied, in the case supposed, that the offense has been
aggravated by prevaricating--by a false oath, or a fraudulent lie in
denying it, which is a "trespass" committed against God, who is the
sole judge of what is falsely sworn or spoken
(Ac 5:3, 4).
and that person be guilty--that is, from the obvious tenor of the
passage, conscience-smitten, or brought to a sense and conviction of
his evil conduct.
(See on
Le 6:2).
In that case, there must be: first, confession, a penitential
acknowledgment of sin; secondly, restitution of the property, or the
giving of an equivalent, with the additional fine of a fifth part, both
as a compensation to the person defrauded, and as a penalty inflicted
on the injurer, to deter others from the commission of similar
trespasses. (See on
Ex 22:1).
The difference between the law recorded in that passage and this is
that the one was enacted against flagrant and determined thieves, the
other against those whose necessities might have urged them into fraud,
and whose consciences were distressed by their sin. This law also
supposes the injured party to be dead, in which case, the compensation
due to his representatives was to be paid to the priest, who, as God's
deputy, received the required satisfaction.
JFB.
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