Lexicon :: Strong's H2254 - ḥāḇal

“No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone [used to grind grain into bread] as security [for a debt], for he would be taking a [person’s] life in pledge.

“You shall not pervert the justice due a stranger or an orphan, nor seize (impound) a widow’s garment as security [for a loan].

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,

The grave is ready for me.

“For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped men naked.

“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],

And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].

“For has anyone said to God,

‘I have endured my chastisement;

I will not offend anymore;

Behold, the [wicked and irreverent] man is pregnant with sin,

And he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies.

Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself,

But he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] will be rewarded.

[The judge tells the creditor], “Take the clothes of one who is surety for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge [when he guarantees a loan] for foreigners.”

[The judge tells the creditor,] “Take the garment of one who is surety (guarantees a loan) for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge when he is surety for an immoral woman [for it is unlikely the debt will be repaid].”

(The Chorus)

“Catch the foxes for us,

The little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards [of love],

While our vineyards are in blossom.”

(The Chorus)

“Who is this coming up from the wilderness

Leaning upon her beloved?”

(The Shulammite Bride)

“Under the apple tree I awakened you [to my love];

There your mother was in labor with you,

There she was in labor and gave you birth.

They are coming from a distant country,

From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—

The LORD and the weapons of His indignation—

To destroy the whole land.

As for the rogue, his weapons are evil;

He conceives wicked plans

To ruin the poor with lies,

Even when the plea of the needy one is just and right.

“Listen carefully, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals

And who produces a weapon for its purpose;

And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.

“They stretch out beside every [pagan] altar on clothes taken in pledge [to secure a loan, disregarding God’s command],

And in the house of their God [in contempt of Him] they frivolously drink the wine [which has been] taken from those who have been fined.

“Arise and depart [because the captivity is inevitable],

For this [land] is not the place of rest

Because of the defilement that brings destruction,

A painful and terrible destruction.