Ezekiel 18:27
in Ezekiel 18But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
KJV
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 27, 28.) And when the wicked turns away from his wickedness that he has done and does judgment and righteousness, he shall keep himself alive. For he considers and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
This site's exposition
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.
on Ezekiel 18:25-29
The exiles complain that God's way is unequal, and the answer, repeated twice, turns the charge back on the objectors, are not your ways unequal? Fairbairn reads the doubled exchange as evidence the complaint was a live grievance among the exiles, worth answering fully rather than dismissing in one line.
This site's exposition
he will save his life
Jerome renders the close of the verse that the man shall keep himself alive. The wicked man of verse 21 returns here as part of the answer to the charge that the way of the Lord is unjust. His turning saves him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Observe, (1.) What is required to denominate a man a true convert, how he must be qualified that he may be entitled to this act of indemnity. [1.] The first step towards conversion is consideration (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
), because it is a matter of vast importance, a matter of life and death, of life and death eternal. A fair invitation given to wicked people, to turn from their wickedness. Assurance is here given us that, if the wicked will turn, he shall surely live,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed,....
But, behold, a miracle of mercy; the day of grace and divine patience is yet lengthened out; and therefore, though God will at last judge every one according to his ways, yet he waits to be gracious, and closes all with a call to repentance and a promise of pardon upon repentance. Here are four necessary duties that we are called to, all amounting to the same:-- 1.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The two last instances repeated in inverse order. God's emphatic statement of His principle of government needs no further proof than the simple statement of it. in them--in the actual sins, which are the manifestations of the principle of "iniquity," mentioned just before.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְשׁ֣וּב | uveshuv | and when turns away | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| רָשָׁ֗ע | rasha' | [the] wicked | H7563 → | 263 times |
| מֵֽרִשְׁעָתוֹ֙ | merishato | from wickedness his | H7564 → | 15 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֔ה | ʾasah | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֖ט | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּצְדָקָ֑ה | utzedakah | and righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשׁ֥וֹ | nafsho | life his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יְחַיֶּֽה׃ | yechaiyeh | he will preserve alive | H2421 → | 282 times |
וּבְשׁ֣וּבand when turns away
uveshuvH7725 →1056 times
רָשָׁ֗ע[the] wicked
rasha'H7563 →263 times
מֵֽרִשְׁעָתוֹ֙from wickedness his
merishatoH7564 →15 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֔הhe has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
מִשְׁפָּ֖טjustice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
וּצְדָקָ֑הand righteousness
utzedakahH6666 →157 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשׁ֥וֹlife his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
יְחַיֶּֽה׃he will preserve alive
yechaiyehH2421 →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
Isaiah 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:22
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 7:14
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
- Psalms 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
- Micah 7:18–19
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
- Isaiah 43:24–26
You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
- Isaiah 44:22
Through
Isaiah 55:7Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- James 4:8–10
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Ezekiel 18:21–23
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.
- Proverbs 28:13
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.