וְאִישׁ֙ לֹ֣א יוֹנֶ֔ה חֲבֹלָת֥וֹ חוֹב֙ יָשִׁ֔יב גְּזֵלָ֖ה לֹ֣א יִגְזֹ֑ל לַחְמוֹ֙ לְרָעֵ֣ב יִתֵּ֔ן וְעֵירֹ֖ם יְכַסֶּה־בָּֽגֶד׃

[Ali Smith]

שלום

וְאִישׁ֙ לֹ֣א יוֹנֶ֔ה חֲבֹלָת֥וֹ חוֹב֙ יָשִׁ֔יב גְּזֵלָ֖ה לֹ֣א יִגְזֹ֑ל לַחְמוֹ֙ לְרָעֵ֣ב יִתֵּ֔ן וְעֵירֹ֖ם יְכַסֶּה־בָּֽגֶד׃
(יחזקאל יח ז),

And is not oppressing anyone, returns his surety, a debt, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to a hungry person, and covers a naked person with an article of clothing.

What is the relationship between חֲבֹלָת֥וֹ and חוֹב֙ here? Secondly, why are the verbs placed after their objects and/or prepositional phrases? The unmarked word order in Hebrew is subject-verb-object-everything else, isn't it?

אני מודה לכם מאוד

 

[radagasty]

What is the relationship between חֲבֹלָת֥וֹ and חוֹב֙ here?

The expression חֲבֹלָתוֹ חוֹב is difficult in both form and meaning, but, as written, חוֹב would have to be taken as being in apposition to חֲבֹלָתוֹ, just as you have translated it. Possibly a case of dittography, it has been conjecturally emended to חֲבֹל הַחַיָּב the surety of the debtor on versional grounds, e.g., the LXX: ἐνεχυρασμὸν ὀφείλοντος ἀποδώσει.

Secondly, why are the verbs placed after their objects and/or prepositional phrases? The unmarked word order in Hebrew is subject-verb-object-everything else, isn't it?

This is not completely settled, and partially obscured by the preponderance of wayyiqtol in narratives, but I would howbeit have said that the unmarked order in a verbal clause is VSO. There is no little variation in this, but the preposing of the direct object is usually for special effect.

Note also that, in the first clause of the verse, אִישׁ is almost certainly the object of יֹונֶה and not the subject, as you have taken it, thus “and he does not oppress anyone” rather than “and a man is not oppressing”.

 

[Ali Smith]

Thanks; I’ve corrected my translation. However, the pronoun “he” is nowhere to be seen in the Hebrew.

 

[Abaye]

No agreement whether חבולה means something like חוב (debt) or something like חבלה (damage).
תרגום יונתן says מִשׁכּוֹן דְּחוֹבְתָא, that is: sort of debt.

תנ"ך - מקראות גדולות הכתר - יחזקאל פרק יח פסוק ז

 

[radagasty]

Thanks; I’ve corrected my translation. However, the pronoun “he” is nowhere to be seen in the Hebrew.

That may be so, but it doesn't necessarily followed that the pronoun should be omitted in an English translation, because Hebrew is a pro-drop language, whereas English is not.