Ezekiel 18:32
in Ezekiel 18For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.
KJV
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
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This verse in Ezekiel 18
Commentary
13 notes on this verse(Verse 32) Because I do not want the death of the one dying (or, the sinner), says the Lord God: return and live. I do not want, he says, for you to die, whom I have begotten for salvation. For I have begotten sons, and I have exalted them, but they have rejected me (Isaiah 1:2). Therefore, return and live. It is said to return, only to those who were previously with God and have later abandoned his company. And live through repentance, who are dead through sin.
This site's exposition
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways
on Ezekiel 18:30-32
The chapter closes on command, make you a new heart, an appeal that anticipates the new heart the Lord himself promises to give at 36:26. Keil reads the juxtaposition as deliberate, the same chapter that has argued individual responsibility ends by admitting the new heart is finally God's own gift.
This site's exposition
So repent and live
Henry calls it absurd to choose death over life when life is offered. Gill reads the pleasure of the Lord GOD with a limit, for He still delights in judgment on the wicked who refuse to turn. The chapter ends on two commands, repent and live.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
The prayer that frees us from faults wins the heart of the judge and wipes away sins; mercy cannot be withheld from the one who asks for it, as humility fires us to pray unceasingly for forgiveness. All this is achieved by the devoted Lord, …
God knows everything beforehand. But there is that which he wills, and there is that which he does not. He willed to bring the flood, but it was not his will that by means of the flood humans and animals alike would be exterminated. He …
Remember the compassion of God, how he heals with olive oil and wine. Do not despair of salvation. Recall the memory of what has been written, how he that falls rises again, and he that is turned away turns again, he that has been smitten is healed, he that is caught by wild beasts escapes and he that confesses is not rejected. The Lord does not want the death of the sinner, but that he return and live. Do not be contemptuous like one who has fallen into the depths of sins.
As we shudder at the wounds of our sins as at deadly poisons, let us apply ourselves to almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Above all, by a charity that loves not only friends but even enemies, let us have recourse to the mercy of that heavenly …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,.... Which is not to be interpreted simply and absolutely, and with respect to all persons afflicted and punished by him; for he does take delight in the exercise of "judgment" and "righteousness", and "laughs" at the "calamity" of wicked men, Jer 9:24; but comparatively, as in Hos 5:
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thus far that is right which is implied in this proverbial saying, That those who are guilty of wilful sin eat sour grapes; they do that which they will feel from, sooner or later. The grapes may look well enough in the temptation, but they will be bitter as bitterness itself in the reflection. They will set the sinner's teeth on edge.
What an absurd thing it is for you to choose death and damnation rather than life and salvation. Note, The reason why sinners die is because they will die; they will go down the way that leads to death, and not come up to the terms on which life is offered. Herein sinners, especially sinners of the house of Israel, are most unreasonable and act most unaccountably.
): I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, which implies that he has pleasure in the recovery of those that repent; and this is both an engagement and an encouragement to us to repent. We are made for ever if we repent: Turn yourselves, and live.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For I have no pleasure - God repeats what he had so solemnly declared before. Can ye doubt his sincerity? his ability? his willingness? the efficacy of the blood of his covenant? Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye - Reader, now give God thy heart. Though every man comes into the world with a fallen nature - a soul infected with sin, yet no man is damned on that account.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As God is to judge them "according to their ways" (Pr 1:31), their only hope is to "repent"; and this is a sure hope, for God takes no delight in judging them in wrath, but graciously desires their salvation on repentance.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶחְפֹּץ֙ | ʾechpotz | I take pleasure | H2654 → | 74 times |
| בְּמ֣וֹת | bemot | in [the] death of | H4194 → | 156 times |
| הַמֵּ֔ת | hamet | the [one who] dies | H4191 → | 839 times |
| נְאֻ֖ם | neum | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| וְהָשִׁ֖יבוּ | vehashivu | and turn away | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וִֽחְיֽוּ׃ פ | vichyu | and live | H2421 → | 282 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶחְפֹּץ֙I take pleasure
ʾechpotzH2654 →74 times
בְּמ֣וֹתin [the] death of
bemotH4194 →156 times
הַמֵּ֔תthe [one who] dies
hametH4191 →839 times
נְאֻ֖ם[the] utterance of
neumH5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
וְהָשִׁ֖יבוּand turn away
vehashivuH7725 →1056 times
וִֽחְיֽוּ׃ פand live
vichyuH2421 →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
2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:4
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Romans 2:4
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Psalms 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
- Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- 1 Timothy 2:4
Through
Ezekiel 33:11Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live.…
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 18:23
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
- 2 Peter 3:9
Through
Ezekiel 18:23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 33:11
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 44; Caesarius of Arles, SERMONS 150:5; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITIONS OF PSALM 140:1; Eznik of Kolb, ON GOD 235; 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.