Ezekiel 33:20
in Ezekiel 33Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
KJV
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
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This verse in Ezekiel 33
Commentary
7 notes on this verseYet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal,.... Still obstinately persisting in their false charges, notwithstanding plain proofs to the contrary: O ye house of Israel, I will judge you everyone after his ways; See Gill on Eze 18:30.
This site's exposition
The way of the Lord is not just
on Ezekiel 33:17-20
The people's complaint that the Lord's way is unjust returns a second time, and the Lord turns the charge back on them. Verse 20 closes the exchange, “I will judge each of you according to his ways”. Wesley notes the prophet answers the same complaint twice in the one book.
This site's exposition
judge each of you according to his
The city fell as a whole, yet each person still stands before God alone. Paul states the same rule at Romans 2:6, that God will repay each one according to his deeds. The exiles could not hide in the crowd.
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 Awakening3 voices
Here 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,
), suggesting that God was partial in his proceedings, that with him there was respect of persons and that he was more severe against sin and sinners than there was cause. Here is a satisfactory answer given to both these cavils. Those that despaired of finding mercy with God are here answered with a solemn declaration of God's readiness to show mercy,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
23 Then the word of the L ORD came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. 25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord G OD ; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v23-25
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕ם | vaamartem | and you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִתָּכֵ֖ן | yitakhen | it is correct | H8505 → | 18 times |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֑י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| אִ֧ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּדְרָכָ֛יו | kidrakhav | according to ways his | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֶשְׁפּ֥וֹט | ʾeshpot | I will judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | O house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל פ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕םand you say
vaamartemH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִתָּכֵ֖ןit is correct
yitakhenH8505 →18 times
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
אֲדֹנָ֑י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
אִ֧ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כִּדְרָכָ֛יוaccording to ways his
kidrakhavH1870 →707 times
אֶשְׁפּ֥וֹטI will judge
ʾeshpotH8199 →202 times
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בֵּ֥יתO house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל פIsrael
yisraelH3478 →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
2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
it leads to
- Psalms 62:12
and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Ephesians 6:8
because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
- Psalms 62:12
Through
Matthew 16:27For 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.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Romans 2:6
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
- Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.