English Standard Version
Ezekiel 3:18
18If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezekiel 3:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
- New International Version (NIV)When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
- New King James Version (NKJV)When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
- New Living Translation (NLT)If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.
Context of Ezekiel 3:18
16And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Read all of Ezekiel 3Ezekiel 3:18 word by word
בְּאָמְרִ֤י לָֽרָשָׁע֙ מ֣וֹת תָּמ֔וּת וְלֹ֣א הִזְהַרְתּ֗וֹ וְלֹ֥א דִבַּ֛רְתָּ לְהַזְהִ֥יר רָשָׁ֛ע מִדַּרְכּ֥וֹ הָרְשָׁעָ֖ה לְחַיֹּת֑וֹ ה֤וּא רָשָׁע֙ בַּעֲוֹנ֣וֹ יָמ֔וּת וְדָמ֖וֹ מִיָּדְךָ֥ אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- When I sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- Thou shalt surelyמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- and thou givest him not warningזָהַרzâhar · to warnH2094
- nor speakestדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- to save his lifeחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
- in his iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- but his bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- will I requireבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- at thine handיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Ezekiel 3:18
- Ezekiel 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
- Ezekiel 33:6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
- Genesis 2:17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
- Genesis 3:3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
- Numbers 26:55But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
- 2 Kings 1:4Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah went.
- Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
- Luke 13:3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
- Ephesians 5:5For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
- Ezekiel 18:30"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.
- Acts 2:40And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."
- Acts 3:19Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
- 1 Timothy 4:16Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
- James 5:19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
- Proverbs 14:32The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.
- John 8:21So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."
Commentaries on Ezekiel 3:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Thou shalt surely die - That is, If he turn not from his wickedness, and thou givest him not warning, as above, he shalt die in his iniquity, which he should not have committed; but his blood will I require at thy hand - I will visit thy soul for the loss of his. O how awful is this! Hear it, ye priests, ye preachers, ye ministers of the Gospel; ye, especially, who have entered into the ministry for a living, ye who gather a congregation to yourselves…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 This passage anticipates the great moral principle of divine government Ezekiel 3:20 I lay a stumblingblock before him - I bring him to trial by placing difficulties and temptations in his way (compare Ezekiel 7:19; Ezekiel 44:12 margin; Ezekiel 14:3-4). It is true that God tempts no man in order to his destruction, but in the course of His Providence He permits men to be tried in order that their faith may be approved, and in this trial some…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 This mission made the holy angels rejoice. All this was to convince Ezekiel, that the God who sent him had power to bear him out in his work. He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen. And however retirement, meditation, and communion with God may be sweet, the servant of the Lord must prepare to serve his generation. The Lord told the prophet he had appointed…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-19Ezekiel was called to be a watchman, a common role for Old Testament prophets (see Isaiah 56:10; Jeremiah 6:17; Hosea 9:8). The watchman looked out for the community. He had to warn people about approaching enemies so they could find safety in time. In this case, the enemy was not a human invader but God. If Ezekiel stayed silent, he would be responsible for the blood of those he failed to warn.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. warning ... speakest to warn--The repetition implies that it is not enough to warn once in passing, but that the warning is to be inculcated continually (2Ti 4:2, "in season, out of season"; Ac 20:31, "night and day with tears"). save--Eze 2:5 had seemingly taken away all hope of salvation; but the reference there was to the mass of the people whose case was hopeless; a few individuals, however, were reclaimable. die in ... iniquity--(Joh 8:21, 24)…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 3:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 3
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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