Ezekiel 18:2
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
Ezekiel 18:2 in other translations
| BSB | “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’? |
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| WEB | “What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? |
| ASV | What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? |
| YLT | ‘What--to you, ye--using this simile Concerning the ground of Israel, saying: Fathers do eat unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted? |
| DARBY | What mean ye, ye who use this proverb of the land of Israel, saying, The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? |
| BBE | Why do you make use of this saying about the land of Israel, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children's teeth are on edge? |
| Webster | What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? |
What does Ezekiel 18:2 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Eze 18:1-32. The Parable of the Sour Grapes Reproved.
Vindication of God's moral government as to His retributive righteousness from the Jewish imputation of injustice, as if they were suffering, not for their own sin, but for that of their fathers. As in the seventeenth chapter he foretold Messiah's happy reign in Jerusalem, so now he warns them that its blessings can be theirs only upon their individually turning to righteousness. 2. fathers ... eaten sour grapes, ... children's teeth ... set on edge--Their unbelieving calumnies on God's justice had become so common as to have assumed a proverbial form. The sin of Adam in eating the forbidden fruit, visited on his posterity, seems to have suggested the peculiar form; noticed also by Jeremiah (Jr 31:29); and explained in La 5:7, "Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities." They mean by "the children" themselves, as though they were innocent, whereas they were far from being so. The partial reformation effected since Manasseh's wicked reign, especially among the exiles at Chebar, was their ground for thinking so; but the improvement was only superficial and only fostered their self-righteous spirit, which sought anywhere but in themselves the cause of their calamities; just as the modern Jews attribute their present dispersion, not to their own sins, but to those of their forefathers. It is a universal mark of corrupt nature to lay the blame, which belongs to ourselves, on others and to arraign the justice of God. Compare Ge 3:12, where Adam transfers the blame of his sin to Eve, and even to God, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 18:1-20
God has no respect of persons. (Ezek 18:1-20) The Divine providence is vindicated. (Ezek 18:21-29) A gracious invitation to repentance. (Ezek 18:30-32) Verses 1-20 The soul that sinneth it shall die. As to eternity, every man was, is, and will be dealt with, as his conduct shows him to have been under the old covenant of works, or the new covenant of grace. Whatever outward sufferings come upon men through the sins…
Ezekiel 18:2 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Ezekiel 18:2
- Jeremiah 31:29-30
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
- Lamentations 5:7
Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
- Ezekiel 37:11
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
- Ezekiel 37:19
Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
- Ezekiel 37:25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
- Isaiah 3:15
What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
- Ezekiel 17:12
Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
- Matthew 23:36
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
- Ezekiel 6:2-3
Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
- Romans 9:20
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
- Jeremiah 15:4
And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 25:3
And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Ezekiel 18:1
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
- Ezekiel 18:2
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
- Ezekiel 18:3
As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Ezekiel 18:2 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | ¿Qué pensáis vosotros, vosotros que usáis este refrán sobre la tierra de Israel, diciendo: Los padres comieron el agraz, y los dientes de los hijos tienen la dentera? |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Que voulez-vous dire, vous qui usez de ce proverbe dans la terre d’Israël, disant: Les pères mangent du raisin vert, et les dents des fils en sont agacées? |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Was habt ihr, daß ihr diesen Spruch im Lande Israel gebrauchet und sprechet: Die Väter essen Herlinge, und die Zähne der Söhne werden stumpf? |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Quid est quod inter vos parabolam vertitis in proverbium istud in terra Israël, dicentes: Patres comederunt uvam acerbam, et dentes filiorum obstupescunt? |