Ezekiel 18:5

5 But if a man is upright, living rightly and doing righteousness,

Ezekiel 18:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 18:5

But if a man be just
Not legally, as to be wholly free from sin, for there is no such just man, ( Ecclesiastes 7:20 ) ; but evangelically, through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto him; and who has a principle of grace and holiness wrought in him; a man of a just principle and good conscience; who is disposed by the grace of God to that which is just and right; for this seems to refer to the inward frame of the mind, as distinct from actions, and as the source of them, as follows: and do that which is lawful and right;
or "judgment" ^F3 and "justice"; true judgment and justice, as the Targum; that which is just and right by the law of God, and is so between man and man; the particulars of which follow:

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (hqduw jpvm) "judiciam et justitiam", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus

Ezekiel 18:5 In-Context

3 By my life, says the Lord, you will no longer have this saying in Israel.

4 See, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine: death will be the fate of the sinner's soul.

5 But if a man is upright, living rightly and doing righteousness,

6 And has not taken flesh with the blood for food, or given worship to the images of the children of Israel; if he has not had connection with his neighbour's wife, or come near to a woman at the time when she is unclean;

7 And has done no wrong to any, but has given back to the debtor what is his, and has taken no one's goods by force, and has given food to him who was in need of it, and clothing to him who was without it;