Ezekiel 18:20
in Ezekiel 18The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The 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.
KJV
The 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe 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: -
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.
This site's exposition
The soul who sins is the one who will die
Deuteronomy 24:16 had already set this rule for Israel's courts, and Amaziah kept it at 2 Kings 14:6. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the righteousness of the righteous man as a righteousness counted to him for Christ's sake. Clarke turns next to two harder cases.
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 Awakening3 voices
24 But 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The righteousness - It shall be well with the righteous, for he shall eat the fruit of his doing, he shall be rewarded as a righteous one. The wickedness - The reward of wickedness. "The son shall not die, not die eternally, for the iniquity of the father, if he do not tread in the steps of it: nor the father for the iniquity of the son, if he do all he can to prevent it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The soul that sinneth, it shall die,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"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.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the soul | H5315 → | 754 times |
| הַחֹטֵ֖את | hachotet | which sins | H2398 → | 238 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| תָמ֑וּת | tamut | it will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בֵּ֞ן | ben | a child | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשָּׂ֣א׀ | yisa' | he will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| בַּעֲוֹ֣ן | baavon | in [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הָאָ֗ב | haav | the parent | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאָב֙ | veav | and a parent | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשָּׂא֙ | yisa' | he will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| בַּעֲוֹ֣ן | baavon | in [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הַבֵּ֔ן | haben | the child | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִדְקַ֤ת | tzidkat | [the] righteousness of | H6666 → | 157 times |
| הַצַּדִּיק֙ | hatzadik | the righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| וְרִשְׁעַ֥ת | verishat | and [the] wickedness of | H7564 → | 15 times |
| הָרָשָׁ֖ע | harasha' | the wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| עָלָ֥יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶֽה׃ ס | tihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁthe soul
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
הַחֹטֵ֖אתwhich sins
hachotetH2398 →238 times
הִ֣יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
תָמ֑וּתit will die
tamutH4191 →839 times
בֵּ֞ןa child
benH1121 →4930 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִשָּׂ֣א׀he will bear
yisa'H5375 →656 times
בַּעֲוֹ֣ןin [the] iniquity of
baavonH5771 →233 times
הָאָ֗בthe parent
haavH1 →1212 times
וְאָב֙and a parent
veavH1 →1212 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשָּׂא֙he will bear
yisa'H5375 →656 times
בַּעֲוֹ֣ןin [the] iniquity of
baavonH5771 →233 times
הַבֵּ֔ןthe child
habenH1121 →4930 times
צִדְקַ֤ת[the] righteousness of
tzidkatH6666 →157 times
הַצַּדִּיק֙the righteous [person]
hatzadikH6662 →206 times
עָלָ֣יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֔הit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
וְרִשְׁעַ֥תand [the] wickedness of
verishatH7564 →15 times
הָרָשָׁ֖עthe wicked [person]
harasha'H7563 →263 times
עָלָ֥יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
תִּֽהְיֶֽה׃ סit will be
tihyehH1961 →3559 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
Deuteronomy 24:16Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
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.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 14:5–6
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 25:4
Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to…
- Jeremiah 31:29–30
Through
2 Kings 14:6Yet he did not put the sons of the murderers to death, but acted according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:16
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 31:30
Instead, each will die for his own iniquity. If anyone eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge.
- Deuteronomy 24:16
Through
Ezekiel 18:4Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
it leads to
- Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
- Romans 6:23
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Judgment35 verses
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.