Ezekiel 18:17
in Ezekiel 18He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed mine ordinances, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
KJV
That 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe 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.
This site's exposition
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done
on Ezekiel 18:14-18
A third generation appears, a son who watches his violent father's sins and chooses differently. The father dies in his own iniquity, the case built symmetrically to close off inheritance in either direction. Keil reads the three-generation sequence as the chapter's argument by example before it is stated as principle.
This site's exposition
withholds his hand from harming the poor
Clarke sets the two cases side by side. The son bears nothing of his father's iniquity, and the father gained nothing from the righteousness of the grandfather. Henry reads keeping the ordinances and following the statutes as a settled course of obedience.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 14 and following) But if he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, fears them, and does not commit them himself (as Vulgate says, 'similar to them'): he does not eat on the mountains, he does not lift his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, he does not violate his neighbor's wife, he does not oppress anyone, he does not keep a pledge, he does not commit robbery, he gives his bread to the hungry, he covers the naked with clothing, he turns his hand away from the poor man's injury, he does not take interest or usury, he follows my ordinances, and he walks in my statutes: this son will not die because of the iniquity of his father, but he will surely live.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
That hath taken off his hand from the poor,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
taken off his hand from the poor--that is, abstained from oppressing the poor, when he had the opportunity of doing so with impunity.The different sense of the phrase in Eze 16:49, in reference to relieving the poor, seems to have suggested the reading followed by FAIRBAIRN, but not sanctioned by the Hebrew, "hath not turned his hand from," &c.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵעָנִ֞י | meani | from [the] poor | H6041 → | 73 times |
| הֵשִׁ֣יב | heshiv | he has turned away | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָד֗וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| נֶ֤שֶׁךְ | neshekh | interest | H5392 → | 12 times |
| וְתַרְבִּית֙ | vetarbit | and interest | H8636 → | 6 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לָקָ֔ח | lakach | he has taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֣י | mishpatai | judgments my | H4941 → | 422 times |
| עָשָׂ֔ה | ʾasah | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּחֻקּוֹתַ֖י | bechukotai | in statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| הָלָ֑ךְ | halakh | he has walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| ה֗וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמ֛וּת | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בַּעֲוֹ֥ן | baavon | for [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| חָיֹ֥ה | chayoh | certainly <live> | H2421 → | 282 times |
| יִחְיֶֽה׃ | yichyeh | he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
מֵעָנִ֞יfrom [the] poor
meaniH6041 →73 times
הֵשִׁ֣יבhe has turned away
heshivH7725 →1056 times
יָד֗וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
נֶ֤שֶׁךְinterest
neshekhH5392 →12 times
וְתַרְבִּית֙and interest
vetarbitH8636 →6 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
לָקָ֔חhe has taken
lakachH3947 →966 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֣יjudgments my
mishpataiH4941 →422 times
עָשָׂ֔הhe has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
בְּחֻקּוֹתַ֖יin statutes my
bechukotaiH2708 →104 times
הָלָ֑ךְhe has walked
halakhH1980 →1546 times
ה֗וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמ֛וּתhe will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
בַּעֲוֹ֥ןfor [the] iniquity of
baavonH5771 →233 times
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
חָיֹ֥הcertainly <live>
chayohH2421 →282 times
יִחְיֶֽה׃he will live
yichyehH2421 →282 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:2
The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
- Proverbs 22:16
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
- Proverbs 17:5
He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
- Proverbs 19:17
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- 1 John 4:21
And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
- Proverbs 22:2
Through
Job 29:16I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:7
The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.
- Psalms 68:5
A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
- Proverbs 29:7
Through
Ezekiel 20:30Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did, prostituting yourselves with their abominations?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 16:12
And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.
- Jeremiah 16:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.