יחזקאל, פרק ה׳, פסוק ז׳

A severe, twofold indictment is brought against the Israelites, pointing to a deep moral and religious collapse. The nation did not merely abandon the specific commandments given to them by God; they lost their most basic standards, sinking to a level lower than the surrounding nations.

The root of this failure is understood in several ways. The primary approach among commentators suggests that the downfall was born of abundance. God granted the Israelites great wealth and multiplied them into a vast multitude, greater than other nations. Yet, it was precisely from this place of excessive goodness that they rebelled against God and rejected His laws [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון]. Others view their state as that of a wild, noisy, and disorderly mob, one that multiplied its wicked deeds far beyond the behavior of the surrounding nations [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ, רד״ק], or simply a state of constant commotion [רש״י]. Alternatively, their condition reflects a deliberate choice; they willingly abandoned themselves to learn the ways of the nations and forsake the laws of God [רש״י, מלבי״ם].

The ultimate low point of their deterioration is marked by their failure to uphold even the standards of the world around them. This failure occurred on two distinct levels. On a religious level, the neighboring nations displayed steadfast loyalty, never exchanging their deities, even though those deities were false idols. The Israelites, by contrast, betrayed God and traded Him for useless idols [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. On a moral and social level, the surrounding nations maintained rational laws, logical systems of justice, and proper manners. The Israelites sank so deeply that they failed to uphold even these basic, decent standards [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Ultimately, the people selectively adopted only the corrupt and wicked practices of their neighbors, while completely avoiding any of their proper and good behaviors [רש״י, רד״ק].