Ezekiel 18:15
in Ezekiel 18He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 neighbor’s wife,
KJV
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,
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThat 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.
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
look to the idols of the house of Israel
Gill notes that the grandson's list repeats the one given for his grandfather at verse 6, in the same words. The righteous life skips a generation and returns. Each man in the case chooses his own way before God.
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 Awakening1 voice
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.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and sees and does not do likewise He sees with his heart that it is not good to do so, et il apercut in French, he realized.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הֶֽהָרִים֙ | heharim | the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָכָ֔ל | ʾakhal | he has eaten | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְעֵינָיו֙ | veeinav | and eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָשָׂ֔א | nasa' | he has lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גִּלּוּלֵ֖י | gilulei | [the] idols of | H1544 → | 48 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֥שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| רֵעֵ֖הוּ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| טִמֵּֽא׃ | time' | he has defiled | H2930 → | 162 times |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הֶֽהָרִים֙the mountains
heharimH2022 →546 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אָכָ֔לhe has eaten
ʾakhalH398 →810 times
וְעֵינָיו֙and eyes his
veeinavH5869 →887 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נָשָׂ֔אhe has lifted up
nasa'H5375 →656 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גִּלּוּלֵ֖י[the] idols of
giluleiH1544 →48 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵ֥שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
רֵעֵ֖הוּneighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
טִמֵּֽא׃he has defiled
time'H2930 →162 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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.