Ezekiel 18:5

5 "Suppose a righteous person does what is fair and right.

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 As I live, declares the Almighty LORD, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel.

4 The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die.

5 "Suppose a righteous person does what is fair and right.

6 He doesn't eat at the illegal mountain worship sites or look for help from the idols of the nation of Israel. He doesn't dishonor his neighbor's wife or have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is having her period.

7 He doesn't oppress anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security for a loan. He doesn't rob anyone. He gives food to people who are hungry, and he gives clothes to those who are naked.