Ezekiel 18:30
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Study Note
Study Note
'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' — Ezekiel 18 is the Hebrew Bible's most sustained refutation of the proverb 'the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' The individual moral accountability of each person for their own deeds, not inherited covenantal status, is the chapter's radical thesis — each person stands or falls before God on their own conduct. The concluding call to 'make yourself a new heart and a new spirit' (verse 31) maintains personal responsibility while acknowledging that the transformation requires divine action, as Ezekiel 36:26 makes explicit. The verse reflects the pastoral and theological crisis of the exile: traditional covenantal theology had to be reframed to address a generation experiencing judgment for accumulated communal failure.
Other Translations
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Therefore, each according to his ways I judge you, O house of Israel? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Turn ye back, yea, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not to you for a stumbling-block,
For this cause I will be your judge, O children of Israel, judging every man by his ways, says the Lord. Come back and be turned from all your sins; so that they may not be the cause of your falling into evil.
Cross References
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But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and …
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and …
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Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge …
Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according …