Yechezkel 18:5

5 But if an ish be tzaddik, and do that which is mishpat and tzedakah,

Yechezkel 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

Yechezkel 18:5 In-Context

3 As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this mashal in Yisroel.

4 Behold, all nefashot are Mine; as the nefesh of the av, so also the nefesh of the ben is Mine; the nefesh that sinneth, it shall die.

5 But if an ish be tzaddik, and do that which is mishpat and tzedakah,

6 And hath not eaten [sacrifices of gillulim, idols] upon the harim, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the gillulim of Bais Yisroel, neither hath made tameh the isha of his neighbor, neither hath come near to an isha niddah,

7 And hath not oppressed any ish, but hath restored to the debtor his chavolah (pledge, collateral), hath spoiled none by a robber’s violence, hath given his lechem to the hungry, and hath covered the eirom (naked) with a garment;