Ezekiel 33:12

Therefore, you human, say to your fellow Israelis, ‘If righteous people start to disobey me, their being righteous previously will not save them from being punished. And if wicked people turn away from their wicked behavior, they will not die because of the sins that they committed previously. And if righteous people start to sin, they will not be allowed to remain alive because of their formerly being righteous.’

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

In Context

11Say to them, ‘Yahweh the Lord says, “As surely as I am alive, I am not happy when wicked people die; I would prefer that they turn away from their wicked behavior and continue to live. So repent! Turn away from your evil behavior! You Israeli people, do you really want to die [RHQ]?”’

13If I tell righteous people that they will surely remain alive, but then they trust/think that because they have been righteous previously, they can start to do evil and not be punished, I will not think about the righteous things that they did previously; they will die because of the evil things that they are doing.

Read all of Ezekiel 33

Cross References

2 Chronicles 7:14if the people who belong to me humble themselves and pray, and request me to help them, and if they turn away from their sinful behavior, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive them for having sinned and I will cause them to prosper again.

Jeremiah 18:10But if the people of that nation start to do evil things and refuse to obey me, then I will not bless them as I said that I would do.

Ezekiel 18:21But if a wicked person ◄turns away from/quits► doing all the evil things that he did previously, and if he starts to obey faithfully all my laws, and does what is fair and right [DOU], he will surely remain alive; he will not be executed.

Ezekiel 33:2“You human, speak to your fellow Israelis and say this to them: ‘When I bring an enemy army [MTY] to attack a country, and the people of that country choose one of their men and appoint him to be a watchman,

Matthew 21:28Then Jesus said to the chief priests and elders, “Tell me [RHQ] what you think about what I am about to tell you. There was a man who had two sons. He went to his older son and said, ‘My son, go and work in my vineyard today!’

1 John 2:1You who are very dear to me, I am writing this to you to say, “Do not sin!” But if any of you believers sins, God can forgive you because we have Jesus Christ, who is the righteous one, who speaks to the Father on our behalf and asks him to forgive us.

Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 33:11-21

The Cavils of the People Answered. ( b. c. 587.) 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God , I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy… Read the whole commentary →

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