Ezekiel 33:17

17 "Yet {your people} say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' [yet] their way is not fair.

Ezekiel 33:17 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:17

Yet the children of thy people say
"Not my people"; for surely the children of God could never say what follows; and one would think that even no man could say it, after so much had been said by the Lord concerning the righteous and the wicked, and his dealings with them, which must appear to be just and right, good and gracious; and yet such were the atheism, the perverseness and peevishness of these people, they went on to say as they had done before: the way of the Lord is not equal:
is not according to the rules of justice and equity. The Targum is, ``the ways of the goodness of the Lord are not made plain (or exposed) unto us.'' The answer to which is, but, as for them, their way is not equal;
according to the rule of the divine word; as for God, his way and methods, both of providence and grace, were right and good; (See Gill on Ezekiel 18:25).

Ezekiel 33:17 In-Context

15 [for example], [the] wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores {stolen property}, he goes in the statutes of life [so as] not to do injustice--certainly he will live; he will not die.
16 All of his {sins that he committed}, they will not be remembered against him, and he did justice and righteousness; certainly he will live.
17 "Yet {your people} say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' [yet] their way is not fair.
18 When [the] righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die {because of it}.
19 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and he does justice and righteousness, because of it {he will certainly live}!

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or "And"
  • [b]. Literally "the children of your people"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.