Ezekiel 18:5

5 "Suppose a person is good and 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 surely as I live, says the Lord God, this is true: You will not use this saying in Israel anymore.

4 Every living thing belongs to me. The life of the parent is mine, and the life of the child is mine. The person who sins is the one who will die.

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

6 He does not eat at the mountain places of worship. He does not look to the idols of Israel for help. He does not have sexual relations with his neighbor's wife or with a woman during her time of monthly bleeding.

7 He does not mistreat anyone but returns what was given as a promise for a loan. He does not rob other people. He gives bread to the hungry and clothes to those who have none.