Ezekiel 33:15

15 if the wicked person restores pledged property and returns what he stole, so that he lives by the laws that give life and does not commit evil deeds; then he will live, he will not die.

Ezekiel 33:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:15

If the wicked restore the pledge
His neighbour's raiment, which he has taken as a pledge for money lent him; and which, according to the law, was to be restored before sunset, ( Exodus 22:26 Exodus 22:27 ) which wicked men did not attend unto; but when such a man is brought to a sense of his wickedness, and repentance for it, as an evidence of it he would restore the pledge: and give again that he had robbed;
to him whom he had robbed; as a thief was obliged to do, four or five fold, according to the law, ( Exodus 22:1 ) , and which, when a man did voluntarily, from the convictions of his own mind, and not by force of the civil magistrate, it was a sign of true repentance; see ( Luke 19:8 ) : and walk in the statutes of life;
the rule of life and conversation, and to the keeping of which the promise of long life is annexed; and which preserve persons from dying a shameful death by the hand of the civil magistrate; statutes, which, if a man do, he shall live in them; see ( Ezekiel 20:11 ) : without committing iniquity;
not living entirely without sin, which the best of men do not; but without committing grosser sins, as before; and without making a trade of sinning, and living in it: he shall surely live, he shall not die;
he shall live comfortably now, and happily hereafter; he shall live a spiritual life, and not die the second death.

Ezekiel 33:15 In-Context

13 So if, after I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, he begins trusting in his own [former] righteousness and starts committing crimes; then none of his [former] righteous actions will be remembered; on the contrary, he will die for the evil deeds he has committed.
14 Likewise, if, after I tell the wicked person, "You must die," he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right -
15 if the wicked person restores pledged property and returns what he stole, so that he lives by the laws that give life and does not commit evil deeds; then he will live, he will not die.
16 None of the sins he committed will be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he will surely live.'
17 "Now your people say, 'Adonai's way isn't fair!' But it is their way, theirs, that isn't fair!
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.