Ezekiel 3:18

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Ezekiel 3:18

16At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 19But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. 20“When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

Ezekiel 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 18:4Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die.
• Ezekiel 33:6But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’
• Genesis 2:17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”
• Genesis 3:3but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”
• Numbers 26:55The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes.
• 2 Kings 1:4Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
• Isaiah 3:11Too bad for the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve.
• Luke 13:3No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well!
• Ephesians 5:5For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• Ezekiel 18:30“Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity.
• Acts 2:40With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!”
• Acts 3:19Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,
• 1 Timothy 4:16Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
• James 5:19My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
• Proverbs 14:32The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, but the righteous have refuge even in the threat of death.
• John 8:21Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me but 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

• Ignorance
• Minister, Christian
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Hard
• Living creatures
• Warning
• Agabus
• Creature

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