Ezekiel 3:21

21 And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and [the] righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life."

Ezekiel 3:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 3:21

Nevertheless, if thou warn the righteous [man]
Every righteous man, that is so in a judgment of charity, whether truly righteous or not, which the event shows; who should be warned not to trust in their own righteousness, but to depend on the righteousness of Christ; that they be careful to maintain good works, to avoid sin, and live holy lives and conversations, as follows: that the righteous sin not;
not that there is any just man that does good, and sins not; the best of men are often sinning in thought, word, or deed; but he is to be warned that he does not continue in sin, and lead a sinful coups of life; which is contrary to his character, and to his faith in Christ for righteousness, which is attended with good works: and he doth not sin;
the warning and exhortation given him having so good an effect, through the power of divine grace, as to be a means of preserving him from a vain conversation: he shall surely live;
spiritually and comfortably now, and eternally hereafter: because he is warned;
that being a means, and with the divine blessing taking effect: also thou hast delivered thy soul; (See Gill on Ezekiel 3:19).

Ezekiel 3:21 In-Context

19 And you, if you do warn [the] wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, on account of his guilt he will die, and you yourself will have saved your life.
20 And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.
21 And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and [the] righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life."
22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, "Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you."
23 And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh [was] standing, like the glory that I saw near the {Kebar River}, and I fell on my face.

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.