Ezekiel 33:17

17 "Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.

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 if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16 "None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.
17 "Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.
18 "When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it.
19 "But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit "the sons of your people"
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