Ezekiel18
English Standard Version
1The of the Lord to me:
2 do you by the of , The have , and the are ?
3As , the God, shall be by you in .
4 , are mine; the of the as well as the of the is mine: the who shall .
5 a is and what is and —
6if he does upon the or his to the of the of , does his or a in her time of ,
7does , but to the his , , his to the and the with a ,
8does at or any , his from , and ,
9 in my , and my by —he is ; he shall , the God.
10If he a who is , a of , who these
11(though he himself of these ), upon the , his ,
12 the and , , does the , lifts his to the , ,
13 at , and ; shall he then ? He shall . He has ; he shall ; his shall be upon himself.
14Now this a who the his has ; he , and does :
15he does the his to the of the of , does his ,
16does , , , but his to the and the with a ,
17 his , or , my , and in my ; he shall for his ; he shall .
18As for his , he , his , and is his , , he shall for his .
19Yet you , should the for the of the ? When the has what is and , and has been to my , he shall .
20The who shall . The shall for the of the , the for the of the . The of the shall be himself, and the of the shall be himself.
21But a turns his he has and my and what is and , he shall ; he shall .
22 of the that he has shall be against him; for the he has he shall .
23Have I in the of the , the God, and rather that he should his and ?
24But when a turns his and and the the , shall he ? of the he has shall be ; the of he is and the has , for them he shall .
25Yet you , The of the is . , O of : Is my ? Is it your that are ?
26When a turns his and , he shall it; for the he has he shall .
27Again, when a person turns the has and what is and , he shall his .
28Because he and the he had , he shall ; he shall .
29Yet the of , The of the is . O of , are my ? Is it your that are ?
30 I will you, O of , every according to his , the God. and your , be your .
31 you the you have , and yourselves a and a ! will you , O of ?
32 I have in the of , the God; so , and .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 18.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God has no respect of persons. (1-20). The Divine providence is vindicated. (21-29). A gracious invitation to repentance. (30-32).
vv1-20
The soul that sinneth it shall die. As to eternity, every man was, is, and will be dealt with, as his conduct shows him to have been under the old covenant of works, or the new covenant of grace. Whatever outward sufferings come upon men through the sins of others, they deserve for their own sins all they suffer; and the Lord overrules every event for the eternal good of believers. All souls are in the hand of the great Creator: he will deal with them in justice or mercy; nor will any perish for the sins of another, who is not in some sense worthy of death for his own. We all have sinned, and our souls must be lost, if God deal with us according to his holy law; but we are invited to come to Christ. If a man who had shown his faith by his works, had a wicked son, whose character and conduct were the reverse of his parent's, could it be expected he should escape the Divine vengeance on account of his father's piety? Surely not. And should a wicked man have a son who walked before God as righteous, this man would not perish for his father's sins. If the son was not free from evils in this life, still he should be partaker of salvation. The question here is not about the meritorious ground of justification, but about the Lord's dealings with the righteous and the wicked.
vv21-29
The wicked man would be saved, if he turned from his evil ways. The true penitent is a true believer. None of his former transgressions shall be mentioned unto him, but in the righteousness which he has done, as the fruit of faith and the effect of conversion, he shall surely live. The question is not whether the truly righteous ever become apostates. It is certain that many who for a time were thought to be righteous, do so, while 26,27 speaks the fulness of pardoning mercy: when sin is forgiven, it is blotted out, it is remembered no more. In their righteousness they shall live; not for their righteousness, as if that were an atonement for their sins, but in their righteousness, which is one of the blessings purchased by the Mediator. What encouragement a repenting, returning sinner has to hope for pardon and life according to this promise! In verse 28 is the beginning and progress of repentance. True believers watch and pray, and continue to the end, and they are saved. In all our disputes with God, he is in the right, and we are in the wrong.
vv30-32
The Lord will judge each of the Israelites according to his ways. On this is grounded an exhortation to repent, and to make them a new heart and a new spirit. God does not command what cannot be done, but admonishes us to do what is in our power, and to pray for what is not. Ordinances and means are appointed, directions and promises are given, that those who desire this change may seek it from God.
Key Words
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
מָה: properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses
מָשַׁל: to liken, i.e. (transitively) to use figurative language (an allegory, adage, song or the like); intransitively, to resemble
זֶה: the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that
מָשָׁל: properly, a pithy maxim, usually of metaphorical nature; hence, a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse)
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
אֲדָמָה: soil (from its general redness)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
אָב: father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application
Cross References
Ezekiel 18Direct parallel showing the same popular proverb about fathers eating sour grapes used in Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The Mosaic law's explicit statutory prohibition against executing children for their fathers' personal sins.
Supported by JFB
Captives expressing the very complaint Ezekiel refutes: that they bore their dead fathers' iniquities.
Supported by JFB
The NT doctrinal parallel that the wages of sin is individual death.
Supported by JFB
Parallel discourse where God swears He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Jeremiah's parallel prophecy stating that everyone shall die for his own iniquity alone.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Exodus states God visits fathers' iniquity on children, which the Jews misapplied to escape personal guilt.
Supported by JFB
Verbatim parallel warning of a righteous man turning away to commit iniquity and dying in it.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Ezekiel's earlier promise that God will give his people a new heart and spirit.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The famous New Covenant promise to replace the stony heart with a heart of flesh.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The Mosaic law concerning returning a poor debtor's garment taken as a pledge before sunset.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The Levitical prohibition against taking usury or increase from a poor brother.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Ezekiel's initial warning that previous righteousness is unremembered when a righteous man turns to sin.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Reinforces the dialogue structure where Israel claims God's ways are unequal and God refutes them.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Jesus warning that generations fill up the measure of their fathers' sins by repeating them.
Supported by JFB
Historical narrative demonstrating obedience to Deuteronomy by not executing children for their fathers' deeds.
Supported by JFB