Ezekiel 18:18

18 His father, on the other hand, cheated and robbed and always did evil to everyone. And so he died because of the sins he himself had committed.

Ezekiel 18:18 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 18:18

[As for] his father
It shall be otherwise with him: because he cruelly oppressed;
or, "oppressed an oppression"; or, "with an oppression" F9; oppressed the poor, and had no mercy on them, but used them in the most rigorous manner: spoiled his brother by violence;
took away the spoil of his brother; spoiled him of his substance; did injury to his person and property, and all the mischief that lay in his power: and did [that] which [is] not good among his people;
neighbours, citizens, and countrymen; did nothing which was good, as he ought to have done; but everything that was bad, which he should not have done: lo, even he shall die in his iniquity:
and for it; it shall not be forgiven him; he shall be punished for it with death, with the death of affliction; and with corporeal death, as a punishment for sin; and with eternal death, dying in his sins, and in a state of impenitence. These instances, put every way, most clearly show the equity of God; the justness of his proceedings in providence; and how inapplicable the proverb in ( Ezekiel 18:2 ) was to them; and that such that sin, and continue therein, shall die for their own iniquities, and not for the sins of others.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (qve qve) "oppressit oppressionem", Pagninus, Montanus; "oppressit oppressione", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius.

Ezekiel 18:18 In-Context

16 or oppress anyone or rob anyone. He returns what a borrower gives him as security. He feeds the hungry and gives clothing to the naked.
17 He refuses to do evil and doesn't lend money for profit. He keeps my laws and obeys my commands. He will not die because of his father's sins, but he will certainly live.
18 His father, on the other hand, cheated and robbed and always did evil to everyone. And so he died because of the sins he himself had committed.
19 "But you ask, "Why shouldn't the son suffer because of his father's sins?' The answer is that the son did what was right and good. He kept my laws and followed them carefully, and so he will certainly live.
20 It is the one who sins who will die. A son is not to suffer because of his father's sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son. Good people will be rewarded for doing good, and evil people will suffer for the evil they do.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. [Some ancient translations] robbed; [Hebrew unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.