1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2 What mean ye, ye who use this proverb of the land of Israel, saying, [The] fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? 3 [As] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have any more to use this proverb in Israel. 4 Behold, all the souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 5 And if a man be righteous, and do judgment and justice: 6 — he hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, nor come near to a woman in her separation, 7 and hath not oppressed any; he hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath not exercised robbery, hath given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment; 8 he hath not given forth upon usury, nor taken increase; he hath withdrawn his hand from unrighteousness, hath executed true judgment between man and man, 9 hath walked in my statutes, and kept mine ordinances, to deal faithfully: he is righteous, he shall certainly live, saith the Lord Jehovah. 10 And if he have begotten a son that is violent, a shedder of blood, and that doeth only one of any of these [things], 11 and that doeth not any of those [duties], but also hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife, 12 hath oppressed the poor and needy, exercised robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, committed abomination, 13 given forth upon usury, and taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall certainly die; his blood shall be upon him. 14 But lo, if he have begotten a son that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like: 15 — he hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, 16 and hath not oppressed any, nor withholden the pledge, neither hath exercised robbery; he hath given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment; 17 he hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, [and] walked in my statutes: he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall certainly live. 18 As for his father, because he practised oppression, exercised robbery upon his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity. 19 And ye say, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? But the son hath done judgment and justice, hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them; he shall certainly live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 And the wicked, if he turn from all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do judgment and justice, he shall certainly live, he shall not die. 22 None of his transgressions which he hath committed shall be remembered against him; in his righteousness which he hath done shall he live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; is it not in his turning from his way, that he may live? 24 And when the righteous turneth from his righteousness and practiseth what is wrong, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done shall be remembered: in his unfaithfulness which he hath wrought, and in his sin which he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 25 And ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear then, house of Israel. Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and practiseth what is wrong, and dieth for it; in his wrong that he hath done shall he die. 27 And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness which he hath committed, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall keep his soul alive. 28 Because he considereth, and turneth from all his transgressions which he hath committed, he shall certainly live, he shall not die. 29 But the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal? 30 Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions wherewith ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: why then will ye die, house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah; therefore turn ye and live.
Ezekiel 18 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (30)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 2 Jeremiah 31:29–30; Lamentations 5:7; Ezekiel 37:11; Ezekiel 37:19; Ezekiel 37:25
- 3 Ezekiel 18:19–20; Ezekiel 33:11–20; Ezekiel 18:30; Ezekiel 36:31–32; Romans 3:19
- 4 Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23; Numbers 16:22; Hebrews 12:9; Galatians 3:10–13
- 5 Ezekiel 33:14; Proverbs 21:3; 1 John 3:7; 1 John 5:2–5; 1 John 2:29
- 6 Ezekiel 18:15; Deuteronomy 4:19; Ezekiel 20:24; Ezekiel 6:13; Ezekiel 22:9–11
- 7 Ezekiel 18:16; Exodus 22:26; Ezekiel 18:12; Deuteronomy 24:12–13; Ezekiel 33:15
- 8 Exodus 22:25; Zechariah 8:16; Deuteronomy 23:19–20; Leviticus 25:35–37; Psalm 15:5
- 9 Ezekiel 20:11; Habakkuk 2:4; Amos 5:4; Deuteronomy 10:12–13; Romans 1:17
- 10 Exodus 21:12; Exodus 22:2; Malachi 3:8–9; 1 John 3:12; Leviticus 19:13
- 11 Ezekiel 18:15; 1 Kings 13:22; 1 John 3:22; Matthew 7:21–27; John 15:14
- 12 Ezekiel 8:17; Ezekiel 8:6; Amos 4:1; 2 Kings 21:11; Zechariah 7:10
- 13 Exodus 22:25; Ezekiel 18:8; Leviticus 20:9; Ezekiel 18:32; Ezekiel 33:4–5
- 14 2 Chronicles 34:21; Proverbs 23:24; Isaiah 44:19; Ezekiel 18:28; Jeremiah 8:6
- 15 Ezekiel 18:6–7; Ezekiel 18:11–13
- 16 Ezekiel 18:7; Proverbs 25:21; Psalm 41:1; Job 22:7; Luke 14:13
- 17 Ezekiel 18:8–9; Matthew 18:27–35; Jeremiah 16:11–13; Ezekiel 33:15–16; Ezekiel 18:28
- 18 Ezekiel 3:18; Ezekiel 18:24; John 8:21; Ezekiel 18:26; John 8:24
- 19 Exodus 20:5; Zechariah 1:3–6; Deuteronomy 5:9; Ezekiel 18:9; Jeremiah 15:4
- 20 2 Kings 14:6; Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:4; Jeremiah 31:29–30; Matthew 16:27
- 21 Ezekiel 33:19; Titus 2:11–14; Ezekiel 18:27–28; Romans 8:13; Acts 3:19
- 22 Micah 7:19; Isaiah 43:25; Ezekiel 33:16; Psalm 18:20–24; Ezekiel 18:24
- 23 Ezekiel 33:11; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:32; Luke 15:10
- 24 Ezekiel 33:18; Proverbs 21:16; 2 John 8; Ezekiel 33:12–13; 2 Chronicles 24:17–22
- 25 Ezekiel 33:17; Malachi 3:13–15; Malachi 2:17; Ezekiel 33:20; Genesis 18:25
- 27 Ezekiel 18:21; Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 55:7; Acts 3:19; Acts 20:21
- 28 Deuteronomy 32:29; Luke 15:17–18; James 2:10–12; Colossians 3:5–9; Ezekiel 12:3
- 29 Proverbs 19:3; Ezekiel 18:25; Ezekiel 18:2
- 30 Matthew 16:27; Ezekiel 18:21; Matthew 3:2; Luke 13:3; Ezekiel 14:6
- 31 Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26; Romans 8:13; Ezekiel 11:19; Isaiah 1:16–17
- 32 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 33:11; Lamentations 3:33
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… and the Lord of all things has himself declared with an oath regarding it, "As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance;" adding, moreover, this gracious declaration, "Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity. Say to the children of My people, Though your sins reach from earth to heaven, …
… not to despair of any so long as "the patience of God leadeth the ungodly to repentance," and doth not hurry him out of this life; "God, who willeth not the death of a sinner, but that he should return from his ways and live." He is a heathen today; but how knowest thou whether he may not be a …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Doth he turn away, and not return?" and, "I do not will the death of the sinner, so much as that he should turn and live:" and, "To-day if ye will hear His voice:" and many other such things, both sayings and examples are set in the Scripture.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… to thyself, "God hath promised me forgiveness, whenever I reform myself I am secure; I read the divine Scripture, "In the day that the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, I will forget all his iniquities." I am secure then, whenever I reform myself, God will give me pardon for my …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)