Ezekiel 18 · Verse 3

Ezekiel 18:3

As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Ezekiel 18:3, King James Version

Ezekiel 18:3 in other translations

BSBAs surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
WEB“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “you shall not use this proverb any more in Israel.
ASVAs I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
YLTI live--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Ye have no more the use of this simile in Israel.
DARBYAs I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have any more to use this proverb in Israel.
BBEBy my life, says the Lord, you will no longer have this saying in Israel.
WebsterAs I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

What does Ezekiel 18:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb--because I will let it be seen by the whole world in the very fact that you are not righteous, as ye fancy yourselves, but wicked, and that you suffer only the just penalty of your guilt; while the elect righteous remnant alone escapes.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 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?

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…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 18:1-20 →

Ezekiel 18:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

חַי\־chai-[by] [the] lifeH2416
אָ֕נִי'A.niof meH589
נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3069
אִם\־'im-ifH518
יִֽהְיֶ֨הyih.Yehit will belongH1961
לָכֶ֜םla.Khemto you
ע֗וֹדodagainH5750
מְשֹׁ֛לme.Sholto speak a proverbH4911
הַמָּשָׁ֥לha.ma.Shalthe proverbH4912
הַזֶּ֖הha.Zeh<the> thisH2088
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל\׃be.Yis.ra.'Elin IsraelH3478

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 18:3

  • Ezekiel 18:19-20

    Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

  • Ezekiel 33:11-20

    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? 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. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; …

  • Ezekiel 18:30

    Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

  • Ezekiel 36:31-32

    Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

  • Romans 3:19

    Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
19,20,30; 33:11-20; 36:31,32; Ro 3:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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 18:4

    Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Read all of Ezekiel 18

Ezekiel 18:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Vivo yo, dice el Señor Jehová, que nunca más tendréis por qué usar este refrán en Israel.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Je suis vivant, dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel, si vous usez encore de ce proverbe en Israël!
German
Elberfelder 1871
So wahr ich lebe, spricht der Herr, Jehova, wenn ihr ferner diesen Spruch in Israel gebrauchen sollt!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Vivo ego, dicit Dominus Deus, si erit ultra vobis parabola hæc in proverbium in Israël.