Ezekiel 18:3
in Ezekiel 18As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
KJV
As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseon Ezekiel 18:3-4
(Verse 3-4) As I live, says the Lord, there will not be for you any longer this parable as a proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine: the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it shall die. (LXX: As I live, says the Lord Adonai, if it will continue to be said, this parable in Israel, because all souls are mine. Just as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it shall die.)
This site's exposition
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
on Ezekiel 18:1-4
The chapter names a proverb circulating among the exiles, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge, blaming their own suffering entirely on prior generations' sin. Jeremiah cites the identical proverb in the same exile, and Ezekiel is sent to retire it by name, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Gill reads the thesis that follows, the soul that sinneth, it shall die, as the whole chapter's argument compressed into one line, every soul standing before God on its own account.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The taking away of this parable is made the matter of a promise, Jer. xxxi. Here it is made the matter of a threatening. There it intimates that God will return to them in ways of mercy; here it intimates that God would proceed against them in ways of judgment.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אָ֕נִי | ʾani | of me | H589 → | 874 times |
| נְאֻ֖ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֨ה | yihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֜ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| ע֗וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מְשֹׁ֛ל | meshol | to speak a proverb | H4911 → | 16 times |
| הַמָּשָׁ֥ל | hamashal | the proverb | H4912 → | 39 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
אָ֕נִיof me
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נְאֻ֖ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יִֽהְיֶ֨הit will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֜םto you
lakhem
ע֗וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
מְשֹׁ֛לto speak a proverb
mesholH4911 →16 times
הַמָּשָׁ֥לthe proverb
hamashalH4912 →39 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃in Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 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
Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Galatians 3:22–23
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Romans 3:9
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
- Romans 2:12–18
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
- Galatians 3:10
Through
Ezekiel 18:30Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:21
But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- Matthew 3:2
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
- Ezekiel 14:6
Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations.
- Ezekiel 18:21
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
