New Living Translation
Ezekiel 18:2
2“Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?
Ezekiel 18:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
- New International Version (NIV)“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “ ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Context of Ezekiel 18:2
1Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’? 3As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. 4For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.
Read all of Ezekiel 18Ezekiel 18:2 word by word
מַה־לָּכֶ֗ם אַתֶּם֙ מֹֽשְׁלִים֙ אֶת־הַמָּשָׁ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה עַל־אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר אָבוֹת֙ יֹ֣אכְלוּ בֹ֔סֶר וְשִׁנֵּ֥י הַבָּנִ֖ים תִּקְהֶֽינָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- What mean ye, that ye useמָשַׁלmâshal · to use a proverbH4911
- this proverbמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
- concerning the landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- have eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- sour grapesבֹּ֫סֶרbôser · unripe grapeH1155
- and the children’sבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- teethשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
- are set on edgeקָהָהqâhâh · be bluntH6949
Cross-references for Ezekiel 18:2
- Ezekiel 17:12“Say to these rebels of Israel: Don’t you understand the meaning of this riddle of the eagles? The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took away her king and princes, and brought them to Babylon.
- Isaiah 3:15How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
- Romans 9:20No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
- Ezekiel 6:2“Son of man, turn and face the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
- Ezekiel 7:2“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel: “The end is here! Wherever you look— east, west, north, or south— your land is finished.
- Ezekiel 25:3Give the Ammonites this message from the Sovereign Lord: Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! Because you cheered when my Temple was defiled, mocked Israel in her desolation, and laughed at Judah as she went away into exile,
- Ezekiel 36:1“Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!
- Ezekiel 37:11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’
- Jeremiah 15:4Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Jeremiah 31:29“The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’
- Lamentations 5:7Our ancestors sinned, but they have died— and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!
- Matthew 23:36I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 18:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? - We have seen this proverb already, Jeremiah 31:29, etc., and have considered its general meaning. But the subject is here proposed in greater detail, with a variety of circumstances, to adapt it to all those cases to which it should apply. It refers simply to these questions: How far can the moral evil of the parent be extended to his offspring? And, Are the faults and evil…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Concerning the land of Israel - Rather, “in the land of Israel,” i. e., upon Israel‘s soil, the last place where such a paganish saying should be expected. The saying was general among the people both in Palestine and in exile; and expressed the excuse wherewith they ascribed their miserable condition to anyone‘s fault but their own - to a blind fate such as the pagan recognized, instead of the discriminating judgment of an All-holy God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge: The people were repeating a proverb. This meant that innocent children sometimes suffer for their parents’ actions. In Ezekiel’s time, the people used this saying to make a complaint. They believed that their ancestors had committed the sins that caused the exile. They thought they were suffering for sins they did not commit (compare Lamentations 5:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-32Vindication of God's moral government as to His retributive righteousness from the Jewish imputation of injustice, as if they were suffering, not for their own sin, but for that of their fathers. As in the seventeenth chapter he foretold Messiah's happy reign in Jerusalem, so now he warns them that its blessings can be theirs only upon their individually turning to righteousness. 2. fathers ... eaten sour grapes, ... children's teeth ... set on…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 18:2
In the dictionaries
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries