Ezekiel 18:2-3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 18:1-9

Evil manners, we say, beget good laws; and in like manner sometimes unjust reflections occasion just vindications; evil proverbs beget good prophecies. Here is, I. An evil proverb commonly used by the Jews in their captivity. We had one before (Ezek. 12:22) and a reply to it; here we have another. That sets God's justice at defiance: ?The days are prolonged and every vision fails; the threatenings are a jest.? This charges him with injustice, as if the judgments executed were a wrong: ?You use... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 18:2

What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel ,.... This is spoken to the Jews in Babylon, who used the following proverb concerning the land of Israel; not the ten tribes, but the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, concerning the desolation of the land, and the hardships the Jews laboured under, since the captivity of Jeconiah, and they became subject to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar: this expostulation with them suggests that they had no just cause, or true reason, to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 18:3

As I live, saith the Lord God ,.... This is a form of an oath; the Lord here swears by his life, by himself, because he could swear by no greater, Hebrews 6:13 ; and it expresses how displeased he was with the above proverb, and how much he resented it, as well as the certainty of what follows; which, it might be depended on, would be assuredly done, since the Lord not only said it, but swore unto it: ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel ; signifying... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:2

The 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 propensities of the parents, not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:3

As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel - I will now, by this present declaration, settle this question for ever. And hence God has sworn to what follows. After this, who will dare to doubt the judgment pronounced? read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:3

Verse 3 Ye, says he, use this proverb; but as I live, says the Lord Jehovah, you shall not use this proverb anymore. He does not mean, by these words, that the Jews should repent and become more modest, and not dare to vomit forth such blasphemy against him; for he is not treating of repentance here; but it is just as if he said, I will strike from under you this boasting, since your iniquity shall be made manifest, and the whole world shall acknowledge the justice of your punishment, and that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:1-2

What mean ye, that ye use this proverb, etc.? Another and entirely different section opens, and we see at once from what it started. Ezekiel had heard from the lips of his countrymen, and had seen its working in their hearts, the proverb with which they blunted their sense of personal responsibility. They had to bear the punishment of sins which they had not committed. The sins of the fathers were visited, as in Exodus 20:5 ; Exodus 34:7 ; Le 26:39, 40; Numbers 14:18 ; Deuteronomy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:1-4

The Divine equity. The unbounded compassion of God is seen in his patience under human provocation, and in his repeated messages to rebellious men. There is "line upon line, precept upon precept." Every style of expostulation is adopted; every complaint silenced; for his "love is stronger than death," mightier than sin. I. GOD HAS SUPREME PROPRIETORSHIP IN MEN . "All souls are mine." This statement is prefaced by a "Behold!" for this was a fact overlooked by querulous men.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:1-4

The misapplied proverb of sour grapes. "The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel?" etc. In the 'Speaker's Commentary' a connection between this and the preceding chapter is pointed out. "The last verse of the preceding chapter declares that God is wont to abase the lofty and to exalt those of low estate. This gives occasion for a declaration of the principle upon which these providential dispensations proceed,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:2-3

An old proverb discarded. The proverb of the sour grapes was but an expression of a prevalent belief of the Jews, viz. that guilt is hereditary. Whatever element of truth there may have been in this proverb was overlaid and lost in a monstrous notion, which destroyed both the sense of personal responsibility and the conception of Divine justice, substituting doctrines of unavoidable fate and unreasonable vengeance on the innocent. I. THE TRUTHS BEHIND THE PROVERB . This... read more

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