Ezekiel 33:16
in Ezekiel 33None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
KJV
None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHere is a particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of Israel, and (which is very strange) grew secure there, and confident that they should take root there again, to tell them that their hopes would fail them because they persisted in their sins,
This site's exposition
righteous man will not deliver him
on Ezekiel 33:12-16
The chapter restates the argument of chapter 18: past righteousness cannot cover a present fall, and past wickedness cannot condemn a present turning. Verses 14 to 16 give the case of a wicked man. The Lord says, “None of the sins he has committed will be held against him”.
This site's exposition
None of the sins he has committed
The Hebrew says his sins will not be remembered against him. Isaiah 43:25 and Jeremiah 31:34 use the same language of God forgetting forgiven sin. The past is closed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Versed 10ff.) Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them: 'Our transgressions and sins are upon us, and we waste away because of them. How then can we live?' 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 turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now lay all this together, and then judge whether the way of the Lord be not equal, whether this will not justify God in the destruction of sinners and glorify him in the salvation of penitents. The conclusion of the whole matter is (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
the pledge the pledge that I commanded [one] to return at sunset.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַטֹּאתָיו֙ | chatatov | sins his | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָטָ֔א | chata' | he has sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִזָּכַ֖רְנָה | tizakharnah | they will be remembered | H2142 → | 230 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| מִשְׁפָּ֧ט | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּצְדָקָ֛ה | utzedakah | and righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ה | ʾasah | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חָי֥וֹ | chayo | certainly <live> | H2421 → | 282 times |
| יִֽחְיֶֽה׃ | yichyeh | he will live | H2421 → | 282 times |
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חַטֹּאתָיו֙sins his
chatatovH2403 →295 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָטָ֔אhe has sinned
chata'H2398 →238 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִזָּכַ֖רְנָהthey will be remembered
tizakharnahH2142 →230 times
ל֑וֹto him
lo
מִשְׁפָּ֧טjustice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
וּצְדָקָ֛הand righteousness
utzedakahH6666 →157 times
עָשָׂ֖הhe has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
חָי֥וֹcertainly <live>
chayoH2421 →282 times
יִֽחְיֶֽה׃he will live
yichyehH2421 →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 43:25I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
it leads to
- 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?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 8:12
For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Hebrews 10:17
Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
- Jeremiah 31:34
No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I…
- Micah 7:18–19
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 2 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.
- Isaiah 44:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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.