When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he will even die therein. When the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he will live by it. Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” House of Israel, I will judge every one of you after his ways.’ ”
Show the surrounding paragraph
Ezekiel 33:18-20 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“ ‘Yet the children of your people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair;” but as for them, their way is not fair. When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he will even die therein. When the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he will live by it. Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” House of Israel, I will judge every one of you after his ways.’ ”
Parallel Translations
-
When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he will even die therein.
When the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he will live by it.
Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” House of Israel, I will judge every one of you after his ways.’ ”
-
When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
Show all 3 translations
-
When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
Yet ye say: The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (18)
- Ezekiel 33:12-13 (v18) “You, son of man, tell the children of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him in the day of his…
- Matthew 16:27 (v20) For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.
- Ezekiel 18:25 (v20) “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not equal.’ Hear now, house of Israel: Is my way not equal? Aren’t your ways unequal?
- Hebrews 10:38 (v18) But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
- 2 Peter 2:20-22 (v18) For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again…
Show all 18 cross-references
- Ezekiel 18:26-27 (v18) When the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies therein; in his iniquity that he has done he shall…
- Ezekiel 18:27-28 (v19) Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he will save his…
- Psalms 62:12 (v20) Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.
- Proverbs 19:3 (v20) The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against Yahweh.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14 (v20) For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
- Ezekiel 3:20 (v18) “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die.…
- Ezekiel 18:29-30 (v20) Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ House of Israel, aren’t my ways fair? Aren’t your ways unfair? “Therefore…
- Ezekiel 33:14 (v19) Again, when I say to the wicked, “You will surely die;” if he turns from his sin, and does that which is lawful and right;
- Ezekiel 33:17 (v20) “ ‘Yet the children of your people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair;” but as for them, their way is not fair.
- John 5:29 (v20) and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 (v20) For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has…
- Revelation 20:12-15 (v20) I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of…
- Revelation 22:12 (v20) “Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (6 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Eze 33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness,…
Eze 33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
Ver. 18. When the righteous turneth.] To set them down, if right reason would do it (and man should be mancipium rationis, a slave to reason), he repeateth what he hath said before.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19–20 In these two verses the cases are so clearly…
In these two verses the cases are so clearly stated, that it is as clear as the sun the ways of God are very just, and that none but ignorant atheists would think or surmise otherwise.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is…
Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal,.... Still obstinately persisting in their false charges, notwithstanding plain proofs to the contrary:
O ye house of Israel, I will judge you everyone after his ways; See Gill on Eze 18:30.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v19 Verse 19. He shall live thereby] "The wages of…
Verse 19. He shall live thereby] "The wages of sin is death;" the "gift of God is eternal life." It is a miserable trade by which a man cannot live; such a trade is sin.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v18 18, 19. These verses sum up the whole principles…
18, 19. These verses sum up the whole principles of the passage, cf. Eze_18:26-27. On Eze_33:20 cf. Eze_18:25; Eze_18:29.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v20 Divine equity.
Divine equity.
Ezekiel was well aware that his message would not meet with universal acceptance. But he was also aware that it would meet, not only with indifference and unbelief, but also with hostility and rejection. The very principles of the Divine government would be questioned. Forewarned is forearmed. And the prophet was himself convinced of the Divine justice. For were he not so convinced, the heart would have been taken out of his work, and his personal and ministerial life would have been blighted and weakened.
Read full note →
I THE DIVINE EQUITY CHALLENGED. There were those who, when they listened to the intentions of the Supreme Ruler, as declared by his minister, criticized the principles of God"s administration, affirming, "The way of the Lord is not equal.
1. There is a presumption against this criticism, arising from human ignorance and the limitation of human faculties.
2. And there is a presumption against it, arising from all that we certainly know of the character of the supreme Eternal Judge.
3. Another objection in many cases arises from the character of those who censure the ways of God: they have much to fear from judgment by a righteous and impartial tribunal.
II THE DIVINE EQUITY VINDICATED. It is very remarkable that the method of vindication is not by a labored argument, but by a direct statement of fact and a direct appeal to men"s reason and conscience. "O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you after his ways." That is to say:
1. God"s judgment and the consequent retribution are facts which no objection or skepticism can destroy.
2. The principles of God"s judicial action are such as it is hard for any reasonable man to blame or dispute. Every man is to be judged individually, and every man is to be judged upon his own conduct and his own character. These considerations have only to be amplified and to be pondered, and they afford a convincing and satisfactory reply to the objections of the captions and critical. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.