Ezekiel 3 · Verse 18

Ezekiel 3:18

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Ezekiel 3:18, King James Version

Ezekiel 3:18 in other translations

BSB	If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
WEB	When I tell the wicked, ‘You will surely die;’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand.
ASV	When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
YLT	In My saying to the wicked: Thou dost surely die; and thou hast not warned him, nor hast spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he doth live; he--the wicked--in his iniquity dieth, and his blood from thy hand I require.
DARBY	When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
BBE	When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood.
Webster	When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

What does Ezekiel 3:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18. warning ... speakest to warn--The repetition implies that it is not enough to warn once in passing, but that the warning is to be inculcated continually (2Ti 4:2, "in season, out of season"; Ac 20:31, "night and day with tears"). save--Eze 2:5 had seemingly taken away all hope of salvation; but the reference there was to the mass of the people whose case was hopeless; a few individuals, however, were reclaimable. die in ... iniquity--(Joh 8:21, 24). Men are not to flatter themselves that their ignorance, owing to the negligence of their teachers, will save them (Ro 2:12, "As many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law").

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 18 Thou shalt surely die - That is, If he turn not from his wickedness, and thou givest him not warning, as above, he shalt die in his iniquity, which he should not have committed; but his blood will I require at thy hand - I will visit thy soul for the loss of his. O how awful is this! Hear it, ye priests, ye preachers, ye ministers of the Gospel; ye, especially, who have entered into the ministry for a living, ye who gather a congregation to yourselves that ye may feed upon their fat, and clothe yourselves with their wool; in whose parishes and in whose congregations souls are dying unconverted from day to day, who have never been solemnly warned by you, and to whom you have never shown the way of salvation, probably because ye know nothing of it yourselves! O what a perdition awaits you! To have the blood of every soul that has died in your parishes or in your congregations unconverted laid at your door! To suffer a common damnation for every soul that perishes through your neglect! How many loads of endless wo must such have to bear! Ye take your tithes, your stipends, or your rents, to the last grain, and the last penny; while the souls over whom you made yourselves watchmen have perished, and are perishing, through your neglect. O worthless and hapless men! better for you had ye never been born! Vain is your boast of apostolical authority, while ye do not the work of apostles! Vain your boast of orthodoxy, while ye neither show nor know the way of salvation! Vain your pretensions to a Divine call, when ye do not the work of evangelists! The state of the most wretched of the human race is enviable to that of such ministers, pastors, teachers, and preachers. But let not this discourage the faithful minister who teaches every man, and warns every man, in all wisdom, that he may present every man perfect to Christ Jesus. If after such teaching and warning they will sin on, and die in their sins, their blood will be upon themselves; but thou, O man of God, hast delivered thine own soul.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 3:12-21

This mission made the holy angels rejoice. All this was to convince Ezekiel, that the God who sent him had power to bear him out in his work. He was overwhelmed with grief for the sins and miseries of his people, and overpowered by the glory of the vision he had seen. And however retirement, meditation, and communion with God may be sweet, the servant of the Lord must prepare to serve his generation. The Lord told…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 3:12-21 →

Ezekiel 3:18 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.

בְּאָמְרִ֤יbe.'a.me.Riwhen say IH559

לָֽרָשָׁע֙la.ra.Sha'to <the> wicked [person]H7563

מ֣וֹתMotsurely <die>H4191

תָּמ֔וּתta.Mutyou will dieH4191

וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808

הִזְהַרְתּ֗וֹhiz.har.Toyou have warned himH2094

וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808

דִבַּ֛רְתָּdi.Bar.tayou have spokenH1696

לְהַזְהִ֥ירle.haz.Hirto warnH2094

רָשָׁ֛עra.Sha'a wicked [person]H7563

מִדַּרְכּ֥וֹmi.dar.Kofrom way hisH1870

הָרְשָׁעָ֖הha.re.sha.'Ah<the> wickedH7563

לְחַיֹּת֑וֹle.chai.yo.Toto preserve alive himH2421

ה֤וּאhu'thatH1931

רָשָׁע֙ra.Sha'wicked [person]H7563

בַּעֲוֹנ֣וֹba.'a.vo.Nofor iniquity hisH5771

יָמ֔וּתya.Muthe will dieH4191

וְדָמ֖וֹve.da.Moand blood hisH1818

מִיָּדְךָ֥mi.ya.de.Khafrom hand yourH3027

אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ\׃'a.va.KeshI will requireH1245

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

Cross references for Ezekiel 3:18

Ezekiel 33:6
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
James 5:19-20
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Ezekiel 3:20
Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Acts 20:26-27
Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Ezekiel 33:8-10
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
Luke 13:5
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Acts 2:40
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Ezekiel 18:20
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.
Ephesians 5:5-6
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
John 8:21
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
Ezekiel 34:10
Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I say.
18:4,13,20; 33:6,8; Ge 2:17; 3:3,4; Nu 26:65; 2Ki 1:4; Isa 3:11
Lu 13:3,5; Eph 5:5,6
to save.
18:30-32; Ac 2:40; 3:19; 1Ti 4:16; Jas 5:19,20
the same.
33:6,9,10; Pr 14:32; Joh 8:21,24
but.
34:10; Ge 9:5,6; 42:22; 2Sa 4:11; Lu 11:50,51; Ac 20:26,27
1Ti 5:22

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

Context

Ezekiel 3:17
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Ezekiel 3:18
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Ezekiel 3:19
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Read all of Ezekiel 3

Ezekiel 3:18 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Cuando yo dijere al impío: De cierto morirás: y tú no le amonestares, ni le hablares, para que el impío sea apercibido de su mal camino, á fin de que viva, el impío morirá por su maldad, mas su sangre demandaré de tu mano.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Quand je dirai au méchant: Tu mourras certainement, et que tu ne l’avertiras pas, et que tu ne parleras pas pour avertir le méchant de se détourner de sa méchante voie, afin qu’il vive, – lui, le méchant, mourra dans son iniquité, mais je redemanderai son sang de ta main.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wenn ich zu dem Gesetzlosen spreche: Du sollst gewißlich sterben! und du warnst ihn nicht und redest nicht, um den Gesetzlosen vor seinem gesetzlosen Wege zu warnen, um ihn am Leben zu erhalten, so wird er, der Gesetzlose, wegen seiner Ungerechtigkeit sterben, aber sein Blut werde ich von deiner Hand fordern.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Si, dicente me ad impium: Morte morieris, non annuntiaveris ei, neque locutus fueris ut avertatur a via sua impia et vivat, ipse impius in iniquitate sua morietur, sanguinem autem ejus de manu tua requiram.