Ezekiel18chapter 18

Ezekiel 18:5

“The first case is given in Eze 18:5-9, the just man. The excellencies are selected in reference to the prevailing sins of the age, from which such a one stood aloof; hence arises the omission of some features of righteousness, which, under different circumstances, would have been desirable to be enumerated.”

Ezekiel 18:6

“1. Hath not eaten upon the mountains - Idolatrous worship was generally performed on mountains and hills; and those who offered sacrifices feasted on the sacrifice, and thus held communion with the idol. 2. Neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols - Has paid them no religious adoration; has trusted in them for nothing, and has not made prayer nor supplication before them. 3. Neither hath defiled his neighbor’s wife - Has had no adulterous connection with any woman; to which idolatrous feasts and worship particularly led.”

Ezekiel 18:6

“A double sin: sacrificing elsewhere than at the temple, where only God sanctioned sacrifice (De 12:13, 14); and this to idols instead of to Jehovah. "Eaten" refers to the feasts which were connected with the sacrifices (see Ex 32:6; 10:7). lifted . . . eyes to--namely, in adoration (Ps 121:1).”

Ezekiel 18:6

“He has taken off his hand from the poor; where he found his father had put hardships upon poor servants, tenants, neighbours, he eased their burden. He did not say, "What my father has done I will abide by, and if it was a fault it was his and not mine;" as Rehoboam, who contemned the taxes his father had imposed.”

Ezekiel 18:7

“The tenth is: He gives his bread to the hungry. From this we are taught that alms should not be given to the satiated, but to the hungry; and not to those who belch from fullness, but to those who suffer from emptiness. For in bread is contained all food. And it is significantly said, his: so that we do not turn bread acquired from rapine, usury, and ill-gotten gain into mercy; for the redemption of a man's soul (Prov. XIII, 7) is his own riches.”

Ezekiel 18:7

“5. Hath not oppressed any - Has not used his power or influence to oppress, pain, or injure another. 6. Hath restored to the debtor his pledge - Has carefully surrendered the pawn or pledge when its owner came to redeem it. As the pledge is generally of more worth than that for which it is pledged, an unprincipled man will make some pretense to keep it; which is highly abominable in the sight of God. 7. Hath spoiled none by violence - Either by robbery or personal insult. For a man may be spoiled both ways.”

Ezekiel 18:7

“After duties of justice come those of benevolence. It is not enough to refrain from doing a wrong to our neighbor, we must also do him good. The bread owned by a man, though "his," is given to him, not to keep to himself, but to impart to the needy.”

Ezekiel 18:8

“10. Hath not given forth upon usury - בנשך לא יתן beneshech lo yitten. נשך nasach signifies to bite; usury is properly so termed, because it bites into and devours the principal. Usury signifies, with us, exacting unlawful interest for money; and taking the advantage of a man’s necessities to advance him cash on exorbitant profit. This bites the receiver in his property, and the lender in his salvation.”

Ezekiel 18:9

“Live ... die - In the writings of Ezekiel there is a development of the meaning of “life” and “death.” In the holy land the sanctions of divine government were in great degree temporal; so that the promise of “life” for “obedience,” the threatening of “death” for “disobedience,” in the Books of Moses, were regarded simply as temporal and national. In their exile this could not continue in its full extent, and the universality of the misfortune necessarily made men look deeper into the words of God.”

Ezekiel 18:10

“His pious parentage, so far from excusing, aggravates his guilt. robber--or literally, "a breaker," namely, through all constraints of right. doeth the like to any one--The Hebrew and the parallel (Eze 18:18) require us to translate rather, "doeth to his brother any of these things," namely, the things which follow in Eze 18:11, &c. [MAURER].”

Ezekiel 18:11

“And that doeth not any of those duties,.... Before mentioned, which his father did, but the reverse of them; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "and in the way of his righteous father does not walk"; does not tread in his steps, and work righteousness as he did: but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife; has been guilty of idolatry and adultery; See Gill on Eze 18:6.”

Ezekiel 18:11

“Let those good parents that have wicked children not look upon their case as singular; it is a case put here; and by it we see that grace does not run in the blood, nor always attend the means of grace.”

Ezekiel 18:13

“Shall he then live? - Because his father was a righteous man, shall the father’s holiness be imputed to him? No! He shad surely die; his blood shall be upon him - He shall suffer for his own crimes.”

Ezekiel 18:13

“'Tis plural, bloods; both the blood of the innocent which he murdered, and his own blood which thereby he forfeited; the blood of his own soul and life: that is the whole blame of his misery in time and eternity, shall lie upon himself.”

Ezekiel 18:14

“Hezekiah, of Ahaz (2Ki 16:1-20; 21:1-22:20). seeth . . . and considereth--The same Hebrew stands for both verbs, "seeth . . . yea, seeth." The repetition implies the attentive observation needed, in order that the son may not be led astray by his father's bad example; as sons generally are blind to parents sins, and even imitate them as if they were virtues.”

Ezekiel 18:14

“Wicked Ahaz begets a good Hezekiah, who sees all his father's sins which he has done, and though he will not, like Ham, proclaim his father's shame, or make the worst of it, yet he loathes it, and blushes at it, and thinks the worse of sin because it was the reproach and ruin of his own father.”

Ezekiel 18:15

“That 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. See Gill on Eze 18:6; where the same things are mentioned as here, and in the same order; only that clause, "neither hath come near to a menstruous woman", is here omitted.”

Ezekiel 18:15

“Thus he has executed God's judgments and walked in his statutes, not only done his duty for once, but one on in a course and way of obedience. (2.) We are assured that the graceless father alone shall die in his iniquity, but his gracious son shall fare never the worse for it.”

Ezekiel 18:16

“Neither hath oppressed any,.... See Gill on Eze 18:7. hath not withholden the pledge; or, hath not pledged the pledge (h). The meaning is, not that he had not given one, but had not taken one. So the Targum, "the pledge he hath not taken;'' or, if he did, he did not keep it beyond the time the law directs, but restored it to him whose it was; neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment.”

Ezekiel 18:17

“He shall not die for the iniquity of his father - He shall no more be affected by his father’s crimes, than his father was benefited by his grandfather’s righteousness.”

Ezekiel 18:18

He appeals to themselves then whether they did not wrong God with their proverb. "Thus plain the case is, and yet you say, Does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? No, he does not; he shall not if he will himself do that which is lawful and right, "

Ezekiel 18:19

“But GROTIUS supports English Version, wherein the Jews contradict the prophet, "Why (sayest thou so) doth not the son (often, as in our case, though innocent) bear (that is, suffer for) the iniquity of their father?" Ezekiel replies, It is not as you say, but as I in the name of God say: "When the son hath done," &c. English Version is simpler than that of FAIRBAIRN.”

Ezekiel 18:20

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die - Hitherto we have had to do with the simple cases or the righteous and the wicked; of him who lived and died a holy man, and of him who lived and died a wicked man. But there are two cases behind: 1. That of the wicked man, who repents and turns to God. 2. That of the righteous man, who backslides, and does not return to God by repentance. On both these cases God decides thus: -”

Ezekiel 18:20

"Righteousness" is not used as if any were absolutely righteous; but, of such as have it imputed to them for Christ's sake, though not under the Old Testament themselves understanding the ground on which they were regarded as righteous, but sincerely seeking after it in the way of God's appointment, so far as they then understood this way.

Ezekiel 18:21

“In a way only, saith he, the sins of the fathers are not transmitted to the children, neither doth the wicked son any longer burden the righteous father; nor are others punished for the sins of others, so that he, who before was wicked and a sinner, if he afterwards do penance, and turn to better things, and blot out his former sins, be not judged by the old sins: but let him be received into my flock, by the renewal of virtue.”

Ezekiel 18:21

“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins - And afterwards walk according to the character of the righteous already specified shall he find mercy, and be for ever saved? Yes.”

Ezekiel 18:21

“Two last cases, showing the equity of God: (1) The penitent sinner is dealt with according to his new obedience, not according to his former sins. (2) The righteous man who turns from righteousness to sin shall be punished for the latter, and his former righteousness will be of no avail to him. he shall surely live--Despair drives men into hardened recklessness;”

Ezekiel 18:22

“All his transgressions - Shall be so completely forgiven by God’s mercy, that they shall not be even mentioned to him; and if he live and die in this recovered state, he shall live with God to all eternity. And why? Hear the reason: -”

Ezekiel 18:23

“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God,.... Perish by sword, famine, or pestilence, or go into captivity; this, though the Lord's will and work, yet is his strange work; mercy is his delight.”

Ezekiel 18:23

“If men perish, it is because they will not come to the Lord for salvation; not that the Lord is not willing to save them (Joh 5:40). They trample on not merely justice, but mercy; what farther hope can there be for them, when even mercy is against them?”

Ezekiel 18:23

“How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? It is spoken here comparatively; he has not pleasure in the ruin of sinners, for he would rather they should turn from their ways and live; he is better pleased when his mercy is glorified in their salvation than when his justice is glorified in their damnation. A fair warning given to righteous people not to turn from their righteousness,”

Ezekiel 18:24

“When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness - Here is the second case. Can a man who was once holy and pure fall away so as to perish everlastingly? Yes. For God says, “If he turn away from his righteousness;” not his self-righteousness, the gloss of theologians: for God never speaks of turning away from that, for, in his eyes, that is a nonentity.”

Ezekiel 18:24

“Here is, (1.) The character of an apostate, that turns away from his righteousness. He never was in sincerity a righteous man (as appears by that of the apostle, 1 John ii. 19 , If they had been of us, they would, no doubt, have continued with us ), but he passed for a righteous man.”

Ezekiel 18:25

“Equal - literally, “weighed out, balanced.” Man’s ways are arbitrary, God’s ways are governed by a self-imposed law, which makes all consistent and harmonious.”

Ezekiel 18:25

“Their plea for saying, "The way of the Lord is not equal," was that God treated different classes in a different way. But it was really their way that was unequal, since living in sin they expected to be dealt with as if they were righteous.”

Ezekiel 18:28

“You see my just sentence and you dare to accuse me of injustice? You yourselves needed to be accused; you actually prefer injustice in the face of such an obvious example of justice by your own judge.”

Ezekiel 18:28

“When he considers he must turn away from his wickedness, which denotes a change in the disposition of the heart; he must turn from his sins and his transgression, which denotes a change in the life; he must break off from all his evil courses, and, wherein he has done iniquity, must resolve to do so no more, and this from a principle of hatred to sin.”

Ezekiel 18:30

“This message is specifically directed towards the Israelites, urging them to repent and abandon their iniquities or transgressions against God. However, it can also be understood as applicable to both the Israelites and the crowd of Gentiles, encouraging them to forsake their vices and turn to the one who can heal their brokenness.”

Ezekiel 18:30

Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions - There is still life; still a God that has no pleasure in the death of a sinner. one who is ever ready to give his Holy Spirit to all them that ask him; therefore “repent and turn, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.”

Ezekiel 18:30

“As God is to judge them "according to their ways" (Pr 1:31), their only hope is to "repent"; and this is a sure hope, for God takes no delight in judging them in wrath, but graciously desires their salvation on repentance.”

Ezekiel 18:30

“Thus far that is right which is implied in this proverbial saying, That those who are guilty of wilful sin eat sour grapes; they do that which they will feel from, sooner or later. The grapes may look well enough in the temptation, but they will be bitter as bitterness itself in the reflection. They will set the sinner's teeth on edge.”

Ezekiel 18:31

“The command to do what men cannot themselves do is designed to drive them (instead of laying the blame, as the Jews did, elsewhere rather than on themselves) to feel their own helplessness, and to seek God's Holy Spirit (Ps 51:11, 12). Thus the outward exhortation is, as it were, the organ or instrument which God uses for conferring grace.”

Ezekiel 18:32

“For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,.... Which is not to be interpreted simply and absolutely, and with respect to all persons afflicted and punished by him; for he does take delight in the exercise of "judgment" and "righteousness", and "laughs" at the "calamity" of wicked men, Jer 9:24; but comparatively, as in Hos 5:”

Ezekiel 18:32

“For I have no pleasure - God repeats what he had so solemnly declared before. Can ye doubt his sincerity? his ability? his willingness? the efficacy of the blood of his covenant? Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye - Reader, now give God thy heart. Though every man comes into the world with a fallen nature - a soul infected with sin, yet no man is damned on that account.”

Ezekiel 18:32

“What an absurd thing it is for you to choose death and damnation rather than life and salvation. Note, The reason why sinners die is because they will die; they will go down the way that leads to death, and not come up to the terms on which life is offered. Herein sinners, especially sinners of the house of Israel, are most unreasonable and act most unaccountably.”