New International Version
Ezekiel 3:18
18When 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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
16At 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 people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 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. 19But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. 20“Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
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 18:4For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
- Ezekiel 33:6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’
- 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 certainly die.”
- Genesis 3:3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
- Numbers 26:55Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe.
- 2 Kings 1:4Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’ ” So Elijah went.
- Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
- Luke 13:3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
- Ephesians 5:5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Ezekiel 18:30“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
- Acts 2:40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
- Acts 3:19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
- 1 Timothy 4:16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
- James 5:19My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,
- Proverbs 14:32When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
- John 8:21Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries