Ezekiel 18:20

20 Only the one who sins will die. A child won't bear a parent's guilt, and a parent won't bear a child's guilt. Those who do right will be declared innocent, and the wicked will be declared guilty.

Ezekiel 18:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 18:20

The soul that sinneth, it shall die
This is repeated from ( Ezekiel 18:4 ) , for the further confirmation of it: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the
father bear the iniquity of the son;
that is, as the Targum paraphrases it,

``the son shall not be punished for the sins of the father, nor shall the father be punished for the sins of the son.''

This is to be understood of adult persons, and of actual sins; for of such only the prophet speaks throughout the whole chapter, or of temporal, and not of eternal punishment: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him;
he shall be rewarded with temporal good things in this life, according to his righteousness; which, as the Targum says, shall "remain" upon him; see ( Psalms 112:9 ) ; he shall eat of the fruit of his own doings, ( Isaiah 3:10 ) ; this is true of a man that is evangelically righteous, or is so through the imputation of Christ's righteousness to him; which is upon him as a robe to clothe him, and will always remain on him, being an everlasting righteousness, and will answer for him in a time to come: and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him;
and not another; his sin shall remain on him unatoned for, unexpiated, not taken away or forgiven; the punishment of it shall be on him, and abide upon him.

Ezekiel 18:20 In-Context

18 As for his father: If he exploited the weak or committed robbery, or did anything else that wasn't good for the people, he will die because of his own guilt.

19 You will say, "Why doesn't the child bear his parent's guilt?" The child has acted justly and responsibly. The child kept all my regulations and observed them. The child will surely live.

20 Only the one who sins will die. A child won't bear a parent's guilt, and a parent won't bear a child's guilt. Those who do right will be declared innocent, and the wicked will be declared guilty.

21 But if the wicked turn away from all the sins that they have committed, keep all my regulations, and act justly and responsibly, they will surely live and not die.

22 None of the sins that they committed will be held against them, but they will live because they do the right things.