For thou hast taken, or, surely thou hast taken. He speaks thus by way of conjecture, or strong presumption. When I consider thy grievous and unusual calamities, I justly conclude thou art guilty of all or some of these following crimes; and do thou search thine own conscience, whether it be not so with thee. From thy brother, i.e. either of thy neighbour, or of thy kinsman; which are both called by the name of brother. This is added to aggravate the offence. For nought, i.e. without sufficient and justifiable cause; which he might do many ways; either by taking what he ought not to take, Deuteronomy 24:6; or from whom he ought not, to wit, the poor, to whom he should give Proverbs 3:27 or when and in such manner as he ought not, of which See Poole on "Deuteronomy 24:10", See Poole on "Deuteronomy 24:11"; or by keeping it longer than he should, as when the poor man's necessity requires it, or when the debt is satisfied, Ezekiel 18:16. Stripped the naked of their clothing; either by taking their garment for a pledge, against the law, Exodus 22:26; or otherwise by robbing them of their rights, all other injuries being synecdochically comprehended under this. Quest. How could he strip the naked? Answ. He calls them naked, either,
1. Because they had but very few and mean clothes, such being oft called naked, as Deuteronomy 28:48 1 Corinthians 14:11 James 2:15. Or,
2. From the effect, because though he did not find them naked, yet he made them so. The like phrases we have Isaiah 47:2, grind meal, i.e. by grinding corn make it meal; Amos 8:5, falsifying the deceitful balances, i.e. by falsifying making true balances deceitful. And so here, to strip the naked, is by stripping them to make them naked.