Ezekiel 3:18

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die and thou dost not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he might live, the same wicked man shall die for his iniquity; but his blood I will require at thine hand.

Ezekiel 3:18 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 3:18

When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die
Not only a corporeal but an eternal death for this is what the law threatens with, and there the Lord says this; and this is the wages, end, and issue of sin, if grace prevent not: and thou givest him not warning;
of the evil nature of sin, and of the danger it exposes to: nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way;
to abstain from it, and live another course of life: to save his life;
for such warning, caution, exhortation, and doctrine, may be a means of converting a sinner from the evil of his way, and of saving a soul from death, ( 1 Timothy 4:16 ) ( James 5:20 ) ; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity;
with the pollution and guilt of sin upon him, and so be punished for it; see ( John 8:24 ) ; but his blood will I require at thine hands;
thou shalt be answerable for him; his death shall be laid to thy charge, and thou shalt be chastised for thy negligence; see ( Acts 20:26 ) .

Ezekiel 3:18 In-Context

16 And it came to pass at the end of the seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17 Son of man, I have placed thee as a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me.

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die and thou dost not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he might live, the same wicked man shall die for his iniquity; but his blood I will require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, When the righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die because thou hast not given him warning; he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at thy hand.