Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel 18:2
2“What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Ezekiel 18:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
- New International Version (NIV)“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “ ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Context of Ezekiel 18:2
1The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3As I live” — this is the declaration of the Lord God — “you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4Look, every life belongs to me. The life of the father is like the life of the son — both belong to me. The person who sins is the one who will die.
Read all of Ezekiel 18Ezekiel 18:2 word by word
מַה־לָּכֶ֗ם אַתֶּם֙ מֹֽשְׁלִים֙ אֶת־הַמָּשָׁ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה עַל־אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אָבוֹת֙ יֹ֣אכְלוּ בֹ֔סֶר וְשִׁנֵּ֥י הַבָּנִ֖ים תִּקְהֶֽינָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- What mean ye, that ye useמָשַׁלmâshal · to use a proverbH4911
- this proverbמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
- concerning the landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- have eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- sour grapesבֹּ֫סֶרbôser · unripe grapeH1155
- and the children’sבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- teethשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
- are set on edgeקָהָהqâhâh · be bluntH6949
Cross-references for Ezekiel 18:2
- Ezekiel 17:12“Now say to that rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean? ’ Tell them, ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
- Isaiah 3:15Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.
- Romans 9:20On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
- Ezekiel 6:2“Son of man, face the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
- Ezekiel 7:2“Son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the earth.
- Ezekiel 25:3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile,
- Ezekiel 36:1“Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.
- Ezekiel 37:11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
- Jeremiah 15:4I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 31:29“In those days, it will never again be said, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
- Lamentations 5:7Our ancestors sinned; they no longer exist, but we bear their punishment.
- Matthew 23:36Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 18:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? - We have seen this proverb already, Jeremiah 31:29, etc., and have considered its general meaning. But the subject is here proposed in greater detail, with a variety of circumstances, to adapt it to all those cases to which it should apply. It refers simply to these questions: How far can the moral evil of the parent be extended to his offspring? And, Are the faults and evil…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Concerning the land of Israel - Rather, “in the land of Israel,” i. e., upon Israel‘s soil, the last place where such a paganish saying should be expected. The saying was general among the people both in Palestine and in exile; and expressed the excuse wherewith they ascribed their miserable condition to anyone‘s fault but their own - to a blind fate such as the pagan recognized, instead of the discriminating judgment of an All-holy God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge: The people were repeating a proverb. This meant that innocent children sometimes suffer for their parents’ actions. In Ezekiel’s time, the people used this saying to make a complaint. They believed that their ancestors had committed the sins that caused the exile. They thought they were suffering for sins they did not commit (compare Lamentations 5:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-32Vindication of God's moral government as to His retributive righteousness from the Jewish imputation of injustice, as if they were suffering, not for their own sin, but for that of their fathers. As in the seventeenth chapter he foretold Messiah's happy reign in Jerusalem, so now he warns them that its blessings can be theirs only upon their individually turning to righteousness. 2. fathers ... eaten sour grapes, ... children's teeth ... set on…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 18:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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