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Christian Standard Bible ®

Ezekiel 18:24

But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostasy;   Backsliders;   Children;   Death;   Judgment;   Responsibility;   Wicked (People);   The Topic Concordance - Death;   Turning;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Perseverance;   Repentance;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Death;   Ezekiel;   Life;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Death;   Ethics;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Individual;   Self-Examination;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Lead;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Atonement;   Captivity;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for January 31;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
King James Version
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
English Standard Version
But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
New American Standard Bible
"But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
New Century Version
"But suppose good people stop doing good and do wrong and do the same hateful things the wicked do. Will they live? All their good acts will be forgotten, because they became unfaithful. They have sinned, so they will die because of their sins.
Amplified Bible
"But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits sin and acts in accordance with all the repulsive things that the wicked man does, will he live? All of his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered because of the treachery that he has committed and for his sin which he has committed; for them he shall die.
World English Bible
But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But if the righteous turne away from his righteousnes, & commit iniquitie, and doe according to all the abominations, that the wicked man doeth, shall he liue? all his righteousnes that he hath done, shall not be mentioned: but in his transgression that he hath committed, and in his sinne that he hath sinned, in them shal he die.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
Legacy Standard Bible
"But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his unfaithfulness which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
Berean Standard Bible
But when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.
Contemporary English Version
But when good people start sinning and doing disgusting things, will they live? No! All their good deeds will be forgotten, and they will be put to death because of their sins.
Complete Jewish Bible
"On the other hand, when the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness by acting in accordance with all the disgusting practices that the wicked person does, will he live? None of the righteous deeds he has done will be remembered; for the trespasses and sins he has committed, he will die.
Darby Translation
And when the righteous turneth from his righteousness and practiseth what is wrong, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done shall be remembered: in his unfaithfulness which he hath wrought, and in his sin which he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Easy-to-Read Version
"Now, maybe good people might stop being good. They might change their lives and begin to do all the terrible things that evil people have done in the past. (The evil people changed, so they can live.) So if those good people change and become bad, God will not remember all the good things they did. He will remember that they turned against him and began to sin. So they will die because of their sin.
George Lamsa Translation
But if the righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and abominations like those that the sinner has done, all the righteousness that he has done shall not be remembered to him, but in the iniquity which he has committed and in the sins that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
Good News Translation
"But if a righteous person stops doing good and starts doing all the evil, disgusting things that evil people do, will he go on living? No! None of the good he did will be remembered. He will die because of his unfaithfulness and his sins.
Lexham English Bible
And when the righteous turns from his righteousness, so that he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then will he live because of all of his righteousness that he did? Those things will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his sin that he committed. Through them he shall die.
Literal Translation
But when the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, according to all the abominations that the wicked do, he does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be remembered in his treason that he hasbetrayed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them he shall die.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Agayne: yf the rightuous turne awaye from his rightuousnes, and do iniquyte, acordinge to all the abhominacions, that ye wicked ma doth: shal he lyue? All the rightuousnes that he hath done, shall not be thought vpo: but in the fawte that he hath offended withall, and in the synne that he hath done, he shal dye.
American Standard Version
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Bible in Basic English
But when the upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, like all the disgusting things which the evil man does, will he have life? Not one of his upright acts will be kept in memory: in the wrong which he has done and in his sin death will overtake him.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered; for his trespass that he trespassed, and for his sin that he hath sinned, for them shall he die.
King James Version (1611)
But when the righteous turneth away fro his righteousnes, & committeth iniquitie, and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth, shall he liue? all his righteousnesse that he hath done, shall not be mentioned: in his trespasse that he hath trespassed, and in his sinne that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Agayne, if the righteous turne from his righteousnesse, and do iniquitie, and shall do according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth: shall he liue? All the righteousnesse that he hath done shall not be remembred, but in his transgression that he hath committed, in his sinne that he hath sinned, in them he shall dye.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, according to all the transgressions which the transgressor has wrought, none of his righteousness which he has wrought shall be at all remembered: in his trespass wherein he has trespassed, and in his sins wherein he has sinned, in them shall he die.
English Revised Version
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe if a iust man turneth awey hym silf fro his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnesse bi alle hise abhomynaciouns, which a wickid man is wont to worche, whether he schal lyue? Alle hise riytfulnessis whiche he dide, schulen not be had in mynde; in his trespassyng bi which he trespasside, and in his synne which he synnede, he schal die in tho.
Update Bible Version
But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the disgusting things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them he shall die.
Webster's Bible Translation
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
New English Translation
"But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die.
New King James Version
"But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
New Living Translation
However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
New Life Bible
"But when a right and good man turns away from doing what is right and good, and sins, doing all the bad things that a sinful man does, will he live? None of the right and good things he has done will be remembered. Because he has not been faithful and has sinned, he will die.
New Revised Standard
But when the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity and do the same abominable things that the wicked do, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they have done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which they are guilty and the sin they have committed, they shall die.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But when a righteous man I shall turn away I from his righteousness and do that which is perverse, Shall do according to all the abominations which the lawless man hath done Shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done shall be remembered, In his treachery wherein he hath been treacherous, And in his sin wherein he hath sinned In them, shall he die.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But if the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man useth to work, shall he live? all his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered: in the prevarication, by which he hath prevaricated, and in his sin, which he hath committed, in them he shall die.
Revised Standard Version
But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.
Young's Literal Translation
And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked hath done, he doth -- thus he liveth, All his righteousnesses that he hath done are not remembered, For his trespass that he hath trespassed, And for his sin that he hath sinned, For them he doth die.
THE MESSAGE
"The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don't keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he'll die.

Contextual Overview

21“But if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die. 22None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced. 23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives? 24But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.25“But you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Now listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair? 26When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, he will die for this. He will die because of the injustice he has committed. 27But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 28He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die. 29But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Is it my ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Ezekiel 18:26, Ezekiel 3:20, Ezekiel 3:21, Ezekiel 33:12, Ezekiel 33:13, Ezekiel 33:18, 1 Samuel 15:11, 2 Chronicles 24:2, 2 Chronicles 24:17-22, Psalms 36:3, Psalms 36:4, Psalms 125:5, Zephaniah 1:6, Matthew 13:20, Matthew 13:21, John 6:66-70, Galatians 5:7, Hebrews 10:38, Hebrews 10:39, 2 Peter 2:18-22, 1 John 2:19, 1 John 5:16-18, Jude 1:12

and doeth: Ezekiel 18:10-13, Matthew 12:43-45, Romans 1:28-31, 2 Corinthians 12:20, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 2 Timothy 3:1-5

All his: Ezekiel 18:22, Mark 13:13, Galatians 3:4, Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 10:26-31, 2 John 1:8, Revelation 2:10, Revelation 3:11

in his: Ezekiel 18:18, Proverbs 14:32, Proverbs 21:16, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 7:23, John 8:21, John 8:24

Reciprocal: Numbers 6:12 - but the Deuteronomy 27:26 - confirmeth Joshua 23:12 - go back Joshua 24:20 - he will turn Psalms 94:23 - cut them Jeremiah 18:10 - do Jeremiah 27:13 - Why Jeremiah 34:16 - ye turned Ezekiel 18:13 - shall he Ezekiel 33:6 - he is Hosea 4:10 - left Amos 5:7 - leave Romans 11:22 - otherwise 1 Peter 4:18 - if 2 Peter 2:21 - to turn

Cross-References

Genesis 18:13
But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’
Genesis 18:14
Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
Genesis 18:32
Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?”
Isaiah 1:9
If the Lord of Armieshad not left us a few survivors,we would be like Sodom,we would resemble Gomorrah.
Jeremiah 5:1
Roam through the streets of Jerusalem.
Acts 27:24
and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,.... This is to be understood, not of a truly righteous man; for no man can be so denominated from his own righteousness; but from the righteousness and obedience of Christ; and such a man cannot turn from his righteousness; for that is the righteousness of God, and can never be lost; and is an everlasting one, and will always endure; and with which eternal life is inseparably connected: but this is to be interpreted of one that is reckoned so from his own righteousness, what he himself has done, and not from another, from the righteousness of Christ, which he has wrought out; he is one that is righteous in his own esteem, and in the account of others; who is outwardly righteous before men; who trusts in himself that he is righteous, and trusts to his own righteousness; see Ezekiel 33:13; whose righteousness is not an evangelical one, but either a ceremonial righteousness, or at most a mere moral one, consisting of some negative holiness, and a few moral performances, as appears from Ezekiel 18:5; and from such a righteousness as this a man may turn, commit iniquity, sin and die; see 2 Peter 2:20; and is no proof or instance of the apostasy of real saints, true believers, or truly righteous men; besides, this man is represented as a transgressor, or "prevaricator", as the word signifies; a hypocrite, a man destitute of the truth of grace, and of true righteousness:

and committeth iniquity; makes a trade of sinning; goes into a vicious course of life, and continues in it; which a truly gracious man, one that is born again, and has true faith in Christ's righteousness, by which he is justified, can never do, 1 John 3:8;

[and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth; such as theft, murder, adultery, idolatry, oppression of the poor, and giving upon usury, Ezekiel 18:10;

shall he live? in his own land, in peace and prosperity, enjoying all manner of good things? he shall not; much less shall he live an eternal life, so living and dying:

all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: or, "all his righteousnesses" k; all the good works which he has done will never come into any account, or be of any avail; as they merited nothing, they will meet with no reward; they will not preserve him from present calamity, which his now sinful life exposes him to, nor secure him from eternal ruin; these may be mentioned and pleaded by himself, but to no purpose; God will not mention them, nor take any notice of them, nor the Judge at the great day of account, Matthew 7:22;

in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die; or, for his hypocrisy, "prevarication" l, and vicious course of life he now lives in, a death of affliction shall come upon him; great calamities and distresses in this world; and, if grace prevent not, eternal death in the other; if he dies in his trespasses and sins, he will die the second death.

k כל צדקותיו "omnes justitiae ejus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius.

l במעלו "propter prvevaricationem ipsius, [vel] suam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 18:24. When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness — Here is the second case. Can a man who was once holy and pure, fall away so as to perish everlastingly? YES. For God says, "If he turn away from his righteousness;" not his self-righteousness, the gloss of theologians: for God never speaks of turning away from that, for, in his eyes, that is a nonentity. There is no righteousness or holiness but what himself infuses into the soul of man, and as to self-righteousness, i.e., a man's supposing himself to be righteous when he has not the life of God in his soul, it is the delusion of a dark and hardened heart; therefore it is the real righteous principle and righteous practice that God speaks of here. And he tells us, that a man may so "turn away from this," and so "commit iniquity," and "act as the wicked man," that his righteousness shall be no more mentioned to his account, than the sins of the penitent backslider should be mentioned to his condemnation; and "in the sin that he," this once righteous man, "hath sinned, and in the trespass that he hath trespassed, in them shall he die." O, how awful a termination of a life once distinguished for righteousness and true holiness! So then, God himself informs us that a righteous man may not only fall foully, but fall finally. But to such righteous persons the devil will ever preach, "Ye shall not surely die; ye shall be as God." Touch, taste, and handle; ye cannot ultimately fall. Thus we find, by the manner of treating these two cases, that God's way is equal, Ezekiel 18:25; just, merciful, and impartial. And to prove this, he sums up his conduct in the above cases, in the following verses, 26-29. Ezekiel 18:26-29 And then, that the "wicked may not die in his sins," and that the "backslider may return and find mercy," he thus exhorts: -


 
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