Yehezkiel 18:1-32
Konteks18:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 18:2 “What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
“‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’ 1
18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, 2 you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! 18:4 Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one 3 who sins will die.
18:5 “Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right, 18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains 4 or pray to the idols 5 of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not have sexual relations with a 6 woman during her period, 18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, 7 does not commit robbery, 8 but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked, 18:8 does not engage in usury or charge interest, 9 but refrains 10 from wrongdoing, promotes true justice 11 between men, 18:9 and follows my statutes and observes my regulations by carrying them out. 12 That man 13 is righteous; he will certainly live, 14 declares the sovereign Lord.
18:10 “Suppose such a man has 15 a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things 16 mentioned previously 18:11 (though the father did not do any of them). 17 He eats pagan sacrifices on the mountains, 18 defiles his neighbor’s wife, 18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, 19 commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to 20 idols, performs abominable acts, 18:13 engages in usury and charges interest. Will he live? He will not! Because he has done all these abominable deeds he will certainly die. 21 He will bear the responsibility for his own death. 22
18:14 “But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example. 23 18:15 He does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains, does not pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 18:16 does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, 18:17 refrains from wrongdoing, 24 does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father’s iniquity; 25 he will surely live. 18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.
18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer 26 for his father’s iniquity?’ When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. 18:20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer 27 for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer 28 for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. 29
18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held 30 against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?
18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. 31
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct 32 is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; 33 because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered 34 and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?
18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, 35 O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent 36 and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 37 18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! 38 Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, 39 declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Yehezkiel 33:7-20
Konteks33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman 40 for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ 41 and you do not warn 42 the wicked about his behavior, 43 the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 44 33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, 45 and he refuses to change, 46 he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, 47 and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior 48 and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! 49 Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, 50 ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. 51 As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. 52 The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness 53 if he sins.’ 54 33:13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die. 33:14 Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right. 33:15 He 55 returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, 56 committing no iniquity. He will certainly live – he will not die. 33:16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted 57 against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
33:17 “Yet your people 58 say, ‘The behavior 59 of the Lord is not right,’ 60 when it is their behavior that is not right. 33:18 When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. 33:19 When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it. 33:20 Yet you say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right.’ House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior.” 61
[18:2] 1 tn This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Jer 31:29-30 in the Qal stem and in Eccl 10:10 in the Piel stem. In the latter passage it refers to the bluntness of an ax that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the “bluntness” of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes but to the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness” because they are numb from the sour taste. For this meaning for the word, see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:197.
[18:3] 2 tn This expression occurs often in Ezekiel (5:11; 14:16, 18, 20; 16:48; 17:16, 19; 20:3, 31, 33; 33:11, 27; 34:8; 35:6, 11).
[18:6] 4 tn Heb, “on the mountains he does not eat.” The mountains are often mentioned as the place where idolatrous sacrifices were eaten (Ezek 20:28; 22:9; 34:6).
[18:6] 5 tn Heb, “does not lift up his eyes.” This refers to looking to idols for help.
[18:6] 6 tn Heb, “does not draw near to.” “Draw near” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse (Lev 18:14; Deut 22:14; Isa 8:3).
[18:7] 7 tn Heb “restores to the debtor his pledge.” The root occurs in Exod 22:25 in reference to restoring a man’s garment as a pledge before nightfall.
[18:7] 8 tn The Hebrew term refers to seizure of property, usually by the rich (Isa 3:14; 10:2; Mic 2:2 [see Lev 5:21, 22]).
[18:8] 9 sn This law was given in Lev 25:36.
[18:8] 10 tn Heb, “turns back his hand.”
[18:8] 11 tn Heb “justice of truth.”
[18:9] 12 tc The MT reads לַעֲשׂוֹת אֱמֶת (la’asot ’emet, “to do with integrity”), while the LXX reads “to do them,” presupposing לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתָם (la’asot ’otam). The ם (mem) and ת (tav) have been reversed in the MT. The LXX refelcts the original, supported by similar phrasing in Ezekiel 11:20; 20:19.
[18:9] 14 tn Heb “living, he will live.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[18:10] 16 tn Heb “and he does, a brother, from one of these.” If “brother” is retained, it may be an adverbial accusative, “against a brother” (i.e., fellow Israelite). But the form is likely dittographic (note the אח [aleph-heth] combination in the following form).
[18:11] 17 tn Heb “and he all of these did not do.” The parenthetical note refers back to the father described in the preceding verses.
[18:11] 18 sn See note on “mountains” in v. 6.
[18:12] 19 sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 14:69; Ps 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).
[18:12] 20 tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”
[18:13] 21 tn Heb “be put to death.” The translation follows an alternative reading that appears in several ancient textual witnesses.
[18:13] 22 tn Heb “his blood will be upon him.”
[18:14] 23 tn Heb “and he sees and does not do likewise.”
[18:17] 24 tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.
[18:17] 25 tn Or “in his father’s punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 18, 19, 20; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
[18:19] 26 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 27 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 28 tn Heb “lift up, bear.”
[18:20] 29 tn Heb “the righteousness of the righteous one will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be upon him.”
[18:22] 30 tn Heb “remembered.”
[18:24] 31 tn Heb “because of them he will die.”
[18:26] 33 tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”
[18:30] 36 tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.
[18:30] 37 tn Or “leading to punishment.”
[18:31] 38 sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.
[18:32] 39 tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”
[33:7] 40 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
[33:8] 41 tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.
[33:8] 42 tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”
[33:8] 44 tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”
[33:9] 45 tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”
[33:9] 46 tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”
[33:10] 47 tn Heb “(are) upon us.”
[33:11] 48 tn Heb “turn from his way.”
[33:11] 49 tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.
[33:12] 50 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:12] 51 tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.
[33:12] 52 tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”
[33:12] 54 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
[33:15] 55 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
[33:15] 56 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
[33:16] 57 tn Heb “remembered.”
[33:17] 58 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
[33:17] 60 tn The Hebrew verb translated “is (not) right” has the basic meaning of “to measure.” For a similar concept, see Ezek 18:25, 29.
