Ezekiel 18:19
in Ezekiel 18Yet you may ask, ‘Why shouldn’t the son bear the iniquity of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will surely live.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet say ye, Wherefore 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.
KJV
Yet 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
This site's exposition
Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?
on Ezekiel 18:19-20
Ezekiel answers with the chapter's flattest statement of the principle, the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. Barnes reads the verse as correcting a misapplication of Exodus 20:5's visiting of iniquity upon children, which describes a general pattern of consequence across generations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 19, 20.) And you say: Why did not the son bear the iniquity of the father? Clearly, because the son has practiced judgment and justice, has kept all my commandments and has done them: he shall live. The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father: and the father shall not 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. He answers the question that the listener could have proposed in the opposite way.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Our fathers have sinned and are not, and we have borne their iniquity, Lam. v. 7 . It is true that there is a curse entailed upon wicked families, but it is as true that the entail may be cut off by repentance and reformation; let the impenitent and unreformed therefore thank themselves if they fall under it. The settled rule of judgment is therefore repeated (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Yet say ye, why?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Why?... - Rather, “Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?”
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕ם | vaamartem | and you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַדֻּ֛עַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָשָׂ֥א | nasa' | has he borne | H5375 → | 656 times |
| הַבֵּ֖ן | haben | the child | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בַּעֲוֹ֣ן | baavon | in [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הָאָ֑ב | haav | the parent | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְהַבֵּ֞ן | vehaben | and the child | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֧ט | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּצְדָקָ֣ה | utzedakah | and righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| עָשָׂ֗ה | ʾasah | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֻקּוֹתַ֥י | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | 104 times |
| שָׁמַ֛ר | shamar | he has kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| וַיַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה | vaiyaaseh | and he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חָיֹ֥ה | chayoh | certainly <live> | H2421 → | 282 times |
| יִחְיֶֽה׃ | yichyeh | he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕םand you say
vaamartemH559 →5305 times
מַדֻּ֛עַwhy?
madua'H4069 →
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָשָׂ֥אhas he borne
nasa'H5375 →656 times
הַבֵּ֖ןthe child
habenH1121 →4930 times
בַּעֲוֹ֣ןin [the] iniquity of
baavonH5771 →233 times
הָאָ֑בthe parent
haavH1 →1212 times
וְהַבֵּ֞ןand the child
vehabenH1121 →4930 times
מִשְׁפָּ֧טjustice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
וּצְדָקָ֣הand righteousness
utzedakahH6666 →157 times
עָשָׂ֗הhe has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֻקּוֹתַ֥יstatutes my
chukotaiH2708 →104 times
שָׁמַ֛רhe has kept
shamarH8104 →468 times
וַיַּעֲשֶׂ֥הand he has done
vaiyaasehH6213 →2628 times
אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 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
Exodus 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
it leads to
- Numbers 14:18
‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 5:9
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Exodus 34:14
For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Joshua 24:19
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
- Numbers 14:18
Through
Deuteronomy 5:9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:4–6
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Exodus 34:7
maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and…
- Exodus 20:4–6
Through
Ezekiel 18:2“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:29–30
“In those days, it will no longer be said: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’
- Jeremiah 31:29–30
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.