Ezekiel 18:5

5 People are declared innocent when they act justly and responsibly.

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, no longer will you use this proverb in Israel!

4 All lives are mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child belong to me. Only the one who sins will die.

5 People are declared innocent when they act justly and responsibly.

6 They don't eat on the hills or give their attention to the idols of the house of Israel. They don't defile the wives of their neighbors or approach menstruating women.

7 They don't cheat anyone, but fulfill their obligations. They don't rob others, but give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked.