Ezekiel 18:20

Ezekiel 18:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
• New International Version (NIV)The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Context of Ezekiel 18:20

18But his father will die as punishment for his own sins. He cheated people. He robbed people. He did evil things among his own people. So he will die because of his own sins. 19You should not say, “Surely the son should receive punishment because of his father's sins.” If the son does what is good and right, and he obeys my laws and my rules, he will continue to live. It is the person who does wrong things who will die. A son will not receive punishment because of his father's sins. And a father will not receive punishment because of his son's sins. Righteous people will receive the good things that they deserve for the good things that they have done. But wicked people will receive the punishment that they deserve for the wicked things that they have done. 21But a wicked person might turn away from the sins that he has been doing. He might decide to obey my laws and do things that are right and good. If he does that, he will certainly continue to live. He will not die as his punishment. 22I would no longer say that he is guilty because of the sins that he has done. Instead, he will continue to live, because he has done things that are right.

Ezekiel 18:20 word by word

הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַחֹטֵ֖את הִ֣יא תָמ֑וּת בֵּ֞ן לֹא־יִשָּׂ֣א׀ בַּעֲוֹ֣ן הָאָ֗ב וְאָב֙ לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ בַּעֲוֹ֣ן הַבֵּ֔ן צִדְקַ֤ת הַצַּדִּיק֙ עָלָ֣יו תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה וְרִשְׁעַ֥ת הָרָשָׁ֖ע עָלָ֥יו תִּֽהְיֶֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• that sinnethחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• it shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• The sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• shall not bearנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: guiltH5375
• the iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• of the fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• the righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• of the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• shall be upon him, and the wickednessרִשְׁעָהrish‛âh · wickednessH7564
• of the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563

Cross-references for Ezekiel 18:20

• Ezekiel 18:4Everyone who lives belong to me. I have authority over the life of the father and over the life of the son. It is the people who do wrong things who will die because of their sins.
• Deuteronomy 24:16You must not punish fathers with death for the sins that their children do. You must not punish children with death for the sins that their fathers do. Each person must die only because of his own sins.
• 1 Kings 14:13All Israel will cry because of his death and they will bury him. He is the only person from Jeroboam's family that they will bury properly. He is the only one among Jeroboam's descendants who has pleased the Lord, Israel's God.
• 2 Kings 14:6But he did not punish their sons with death. He obeyed the Lord's command that was written in the Book of the Law of Moses. The command says, ‘Do not punish fathers with death when their sons do bad things. Do not punish children with death when their fathers do bad things. Each person must die only because of his own sins.’
• 2 Kings 22:18The king of Judah sent you here to ask for the Lord's answer. Say to the king, “The Lord, Israel's God, says this about the message that you have heard:
• 2 Chronicles 25:4But he did not punish their sons with death. He obeyed the Lord's command that was written in the Book of the Law of Moses. The command says, ‘Do not punish fathers with death when their sons do bad things. Do not punish children with death when their fathers do bad things. Each person must die only because of his own sins.’
• Jeremiah 31:29‘When that happens, people will not say, “The fathers have eaten bitter fruit, but it causes their children's teeth to hurt.”
• Ezekiel 4:4Then lie down on your left side. Show that you are receiving the punishment for the sins of the Israelites. You will suffer like that for 390 days. It will show the number of years that I have decided to punish Israel's people. Each day that you suffer will show one year of their punishment.
• Leviticus 5:1A person may know about something that is wrong. He may not speak about it at a public meeting. That person is sinning.
• Leviticus 10:17Moses said to them, ‘This gift was for the Lord. It was a very holy gift. It was to atone for the people's sins. Why did you not take it to the holy place and eat it?
• Leviticus 16:22The goat will carry all the sins of the people into the desert. The man must send it away into the desert.
• Leviticus 19:8If he eats the meat on the third day he makes unclean a gift that is holy to the Lord. You must send him away from the camp.
• Numbers 18:1The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your family will be guilty for any wrong thing that happens in my Holy Tent. You and your sons will be guilty for any wrong thing that a priest does.
• Isaiah 53:11When God's servant sees the result of his pain, he will understand what he has done. And he will be happy. The Lord says, ‘My righteous servant will cause many people to be “not guilty”, because he will take the punishment for all their sins.
• Hebrews 9:28Christ also died only once as a sacrifice. In this way, he took God's punishment for the sins of many people. Christ will return to earth a second time, but that will not be as a sacrifice for sins. That time, he will come to save those people who are waiting patiently for him.
• 1 Peter 2:24When Christ died on the cross, he carried our sins in his own body. He took this punishment so that sin would no longer rule over us. Instead, we can now do the right things that God wants us to do. Because people hurt Christ's body, you have now become well.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 18:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The soul that sinneth, it shall die - Hitherto we have had to do with the simple cases or the righteous and the wicked; of him who lived and died a holy man, and of him who lived and died a wicked man. But there are two cases behind: That of the wicked man, who repents and turns to God. 2. That of the righteous man, who backslides, and does not return to God by repentance. On both these cases God decides thus: -Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-32This section includes eight metaphors, each showing from a different angle the certainty of Jerusalem's upcoming judgment. The images are of: a worthless vine (Ezekiel 15); a faithless wife (Ezekiel 16); a vine and two eagles (Ezekiel 17); Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18); a lion and her cubs (Ezekiel 19); a sword (Ezekiel 21); two corrupt sisters (Ezekiel 23); and a cooking pot (Ezekiel 24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. son shall not bear ... iniquity of ... father--(De 24:16; 2Ki 14:6). righteousness ... wickedness--that is, the reward for righteousness ... the punishment of wickedness. "Righteousness" is not used as if any were absolutely righteous; but, of such as have it imputed to them for Christ's sake, though not under the Old Testament themselves understanding the ground on which they were regarded as righteous, but sincerely seeking after it in the way of…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 18:20

• Children
• Heredity
• Judgment
• Responsibility
• Righteous
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Cruelly
• Live
• Accountability
• Atonement, Day of
• Ezekiel
• God
• Heredity
• Prophecy; Prophets
• Resurrection
• Salvation

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