The Prophets · Old Testament
Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 18: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" and the proverb of sour grapes
General context
The Lord asks why the people use the proverb "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge," and swears they will not use it any more. "All souls are mine"; "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." A just man is defined by a list: he does not eat on the mountains or look to idols, keeps from his neighbour's wife and from a menstruous woman, does not oppress, restores the pledge, gives bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, takes no usury or increase, and judges truly; "he shall surely live." If that man begets a son who is a robber and shedder of blood and does the opposite, the son "shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him." If that son begets a son who sees his father's sins and does not do them, "he shall not die for the iniquity of his father." To the objection "doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?" the answer is that neither bears the other's: righteousness and wickedness each rest on the one who does them. A wicked man who turns and keeps the statutes will live and his transgressions will not be mentioned; the Lord asks whether he has "any pleasure at all that the wicked should die." A righteous man who turns to iniquity will die and his righteousness will not be mentioned. Twice the people say "The way of the Lord is not equal," and twice the Lord answers that their ways are unequal. He will judge each "according to his ways"; they are to repent, cast away their transgressions and make "a new heart and a new spirit," for "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth."
Cited passages: Ezekiel 18:2, Ezekiel 18:3, Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:6, Ezekiel 18:7, Ezekiel 18:8, Ezekiel 18:9, Ezekiel 18:10, Ezekiel 18:13, Ezekiel 18:14, Ezekiel 18:17, Ezekiel 18:18, Ezekiel 18:19, Ezekiel 18:20, Ezekiel 18:22, Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 18:24, Ezekiel 18:25, Ezekiel 18:30, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 18:32
Ezekiel 18 (KJV)
1The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
3As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4Behold, all 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.
5But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
7And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.
10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife,
12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
15That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife,
16Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20The 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.
21But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
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Historical context
The chapter is entirely the Lord's speech, with the people's objections quoted inside it: the sour grapes proverb, "Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?" and, twice, "The way of the Lord is not equal." The proverb is said to be used "concerning the land of Israel," and the audience is "O house of Israel"; no date or setting is given, and 12:22 already challenged another proverb, "what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel." The three generations are a constructed example, "if a man be just," "if he beget a son," not named persons. The list of just acts mixes worship, sex, money and violence: mountains and idols, the neighbour's wife and the menstruous woman, pledges, usury and increase, bread and clothing, oppression and spoiling. The word "die" is not explained beyond its plain sense, and the chapter does not say whether it means a death sentence, an early death or something else. The turning of the wicked and the turning of the righteous are each stated twice, in 18:21 to 24 and again in 18:26 to 28, and the wording for the turned righteous man is severe: his past righteousness "shall not be mentioned." The phrase "a new heart and a new spirit" is here something the people are told to make for themselves, whereas 11:19 had the Lord promising "I will put a new spirit within you"; the text does not reconcile the two. The Lord's statement that he has "no pleasure in the death of him that dieth" is given twice, first as a question at 18:23 and then as a statement at 18:32.
Cited passages: Ezekiel 18:2, Ezekiel 18:29, Ezekiel 18:5, Ezekiel 18:12, Ezekiel 18:21, Ezekiel 18:26, Ezekiel 18:27, Ezekiel 18:31, Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 12:22, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 18:32
Literary context
The chapter is an argument built on cases. It opens with a proverb and a counter-principle, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," which returns word for word at 18:20 as the conclusion of the three-generation example. Each generation is described with much the same checklist, positive for the grandfather, negative for the father, positive again for the grandson, so the reader hears the list three times and the verdicts "he shall surely live" and "he shall surely die" close each case. The objections are staged as speech, "Yet say ye," "Yet saith the house of Israel," and answered with questions turned back, "Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?" The second half moves from lineage to a single life that changes direction, and it is symmetrical: the wicked who turns lives, the righteous who turns dies, stated and then restated. The Lord's questions about pleasure in death frame that section, at 18:23 and 18:32, so the chapter ends not on judgment but on an appeal, "why will ye die," "turn yourselves, and live ye." The refrain "saith the Lord God" marks the joints.
Cited passages: Ezekiel 18:20, Ezekiel 18:15, Ezekiel 18:11, Ezekiel 18:13, Ezekiel 18:29, Ezekiel 18:28, Ezekiel 18:24, Ezekiel 18:32, Ezekiel 18:9, Ezekiel 18:17
Key moments
- Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18:2). The Lord challenges the proverb that children suffer for their fathers' eating.
- The soul that sinneth (Ezekiel 18:4). All souls belong to the Lord and the one who sins is the one who dies.
- The just man's list (Ezekiel 18:7). A just man restores pledges, feeds the hungry and clothes the naked.
- A violent son (Ezekiel 18:13). The just man's wicked son will die and his blood will be on him.
- Neither bears the other's iniquity (Ezekiel 18:20). Righteousness and wickedness each rest on the one who does them.
- No pleasure in death (Ezekiel 18:23). The Lord asks whether he takes any pleasure in the death of the wicked.
- Turn yourselves and live (Ezekiel 18:32). The chapter ends with a call to turn and live.
For reflection
The chapter says a righteous man who turns to iniquity will have his righteousness "not be mentioned," and a wicked man who turns will have his sins "not be mentioned." What does it mean for the past to count for nothing in both directions?
