Yechezkel 3:18

18 When I say unto the rasha, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the rasha from his derech harasha’ah, to save his life; the same rasha shall die in his avon; but I will hold accountable thine yad for his dahm.

Yechezkel 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 ) .

Yechezkel 3:18 In-Context

16 And it came to pass at the end of shivat yamim, that the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

17 Ben Adam, I have made thee a tzofeh (watchman) unto the Bais Yisroel; therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me.

18 When I say unto the rasha, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the rasha from his derech harasha’ah, to save his life; the same rasha shall die in his avon; but I will hold accountable thine yad for his dahm.

19 Yet if thou warn the rasha, and he turn not from his resha, nor from his derech harasha’ah, he shall die in his avon; but thou hast saved thy nefesh.

20 Again, When a tzaddik doth turn from his tzedek, and commit evil, and I lay a michshol (stumbling block of temptation) before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his chattat, and his tzidkot which he hath worked shall not be remembered; but I will hold accountable thine yad for his dahm.