יחזקאל, פרק כ״ב, פסוק כ״ט

Moral decay rarely remains confined to the halls of leadership. The corruption that began with spiritual and political figures eventually seeped into the daily lives of the common people. A harsh reality took hold where anyone possessing more power than their neighbor used it to exploit and rob them [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. In this state of moral decline, the general population is compared to lead, representing the lowest and most degraded element of the nation [מלבי״ם].

The abuse took various forms, targeting people in different ways. There is a clear distinction between acts of oppression and outright robbery. One approach suggests that oppression refers to the relatively lighter offense of withholding a worker's rightful wages, while robbery involves the direct theft of money [מלבי״ם]. Another perspective views oppression as inflicting actual physical harm, such as beating another person [מצודת דוד].

This cruelty was especially harsh toward the most vulnerable members of society. Instead of fulfilling the basic moral duty to provide charity to the poor and needy, the people deceived them. They financially exploited the destitute, caused them deep sorrow, and stripped away the little they still possessed [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The stranger was also subjected to this abuse, directly violating the special obligation to show them love and care [מצודת דוד].

The primary approach among commentators is that all these terrible acts were rooted in a single, devastating failure: the complete absence of a functioning justice system. Without any judges or legal structures to enforce the law, the land descended into total lawlessness, creating an environment where everyone simply did whatever they pleased.