Ezekiel 18:5-6

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 18:5

But if a man be just ,.... Not legally, as to be wholly free from sin, for there is no such just man, Ecclesiastes 7:20 ; but evangelically, through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto him; and who has a principle of grace and holiness wrought in him; a man of a just principle and good conscience; who is disposed by the grace of God to that which is just and right; for this seems to refer to the inward frame of the mind, as distinct from actions, and as the source of them,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 18:6

And hath not eaten upon the mountains ,.... Where temples and altars were built for idols, and sacrifices offered up to them; and where feasts were kept to the honour of them, and the sacrifices to them eaten; see Ezekiel 6:13 ; for otherwise it was not unlawful to eat common food on mountains, as well as on other places; but here it denotes idolatrous practices; and the Targum is, "and hath not served idols on the mountains:' neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:5

If a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right - If he be just or holy within, and do what is according to law and equity. What is meant by this, is immediately specified. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:6

1. Hath not eaten upon the mountains - Idolatrous worship was generally performed on mountains and hills; and those who offered sacrifices feasted on the sacrifice, and thus held communion with the idol. 2. Neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols - Has paid them no religious adoration; has trusted in them for nothing, and has not made prayer nor supplication before them. 3. Neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife - Has had no adulterous connection with any woman; to which... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:5

Verse 5 Here the Prophet confirms his former teaching by examples. For he first says, if any one faithfully keep the law, he shall prosper, since God will repay the reward of justice: afterwards he adds, if the just man beget a son unlike himself, the justice of the father shall not profit the degenerate son, but he shall receive the reward of his iniquity. But if this second person should beget a son who does not imitate his father, God promises that this third person shall be acceptable by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 18:6

Verse 6 He says then, if he has not eaten upon the mountains, and not raised his eyes to the abominable deeds of the house of Israel. These two points respect the worship of God: for by the figure “a part for the whole” to eat, means to offer sacrifices: he refers to those to which banquets were added as appendages. And truly when Paul speaks of idolatry, he does not say, if any one bends his knees before stone or wood, but he quotes the words of Moses, that the people rose up to play after... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:5-9

The verses that follow are noticeable as forming one of the most complete pictures of a righteous life presented in the Old Testament. It ads characteristic of Ezekiel that he starts from the avoidance of sins against the first table of the commandments. To eat upon the mountains was to take part in the sacrificial feasts on the places, of which he had already spoken ( Ezekiel 16:16 ; comp. Ezekiel 22:9 ; Deuteronomy 12:2 ). The words, lifted up his eyes, as in Deuteronomy 4:19 and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:5-9

The just man delineated, "But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right," etc. I. THE CHARACTER MENTIONED . "If a man be just," or righteous. This justness or righteousness is not merely a state of correct opinion; or of becoming feeling on moral questions; or of religious profession ( Matthew 7:21 ). It is a condition of character. The just man "is marked by this, that his settled principles, his customary desire, is to do, not what is pleasant, not what is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 18:5-18

The moral alternative. With a legal minuteness, and with a directness and plainness becoming to the teacher of practical morality, the prophet presents the alternative and antithesis of human life. If not in every particular, still in almost every particular, the picture of the good and of the bad man printed in this passage would be admitted by moralists of every school to be faithful and fair. I. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE GOOD AND OF THE BAD MAN . As the classes are... read more

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