New King James Version
Ezekiel 3:21
21Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
Ezekiel 3:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
- New International Version (NIV)But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."
- New Living Translation (NLT)But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”
Context of Ezekiel 3:21
19Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. 20“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” 22Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.” 23So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
Read all of Ezekiel 3Ezekiel 3:21 word by word
וְאַתָּ֞ה כִּ֧י הִזְהַרְתּ֣וֹ צַדִּ֗יק לְבִלְתִּ֥י חֲטֹ֛א צַדִּ֖יק וְה֣וּא לֹא־חָטָ֑א חָי֤וֹ יִֽחְיֶה֙ כִּ֣י נִזְהָ֔ר וְאַתָּ֖ה אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁךָ֥ הִצַּֽלְתָּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 3:21
- Matthew 24:24For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
- Acts 20:31Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
- 1 Corinthians 4:14I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.
- 1 Corinthians 10:12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
- Galatians 1:6I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
- Galatians 5:2Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
- Ephesians 4:17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
- Ephesians 5:5For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
- Colossians 1:28Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
- Colossians 3:5Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.
- 1 John 3:6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
- Revelation 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
- Ezekiel 3:20“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
- Psalms 19:11Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 3:21
- 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. 20-21The prophet spoke to two groups of people: the righteous and the wicked. Ezekiel had to deliver his message to both groups. He did not choose who would hear it. Both the righteous and the wicked would be judged by how they responded to his word (see Matthew 13:3–9, 18–23). Those who listened and obeyed would receive life. Those who rejected his message would receive death, even if they had once been righteous. Faith in the Lord’s word, spoken through his…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-271. eat ... and ... speak--God's messenger must first inwardly appropriate God's truth himself, before he "speaks" it to others (see on Eze 2:8). Symbolic actions were, when possible and proper, performed outwardly; otherwise, internally and in spiritual vision, the action so narrated making the naked statement more intuitive and impressive by presenting the subject in a concentrated, embodied form.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 3:21
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries