Bible Strands
Ezekiel 18:10
Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Ezekiel to the exiled community of Israel, addressing the generational cycle of righteousness and wickedness. The prophet introduces a hypothetical scenario contrasting a righteous father with a violent son.
The words — The Hebrew term פָּרִיץ (pa.Ritz) functions as an adjective meaning "violent," modifying the son rather than standing alone as a noun. The phrase שֹׁפֵךְ דָּם (sho.Fekh Dam) literally denotes the active shedding of blood.
The thread — The prohibition against unlawful bloodshed and the principle of divine accountability for violent acts appear in Exodus 21:12 and Genesis 9:5, while Exodus 22:2 clarifies that killing a thief in self-defense does not incur guilt for bloodshed.
Why it lands — The text demands personal accountability for one's own actions rather than attributing a parent's righteousness or wickedness to the child. It requires readers to examine their own conduct against God's statutes instead of relying on familial lineage.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
Cross-references
- Exodus 21:12 Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
- Genesis 9:5 And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
- Exodus 22:2 If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.
- Leviticus 19:13 You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
- Numbers 35:31 You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
- Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- John 18:40 “Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)
- 1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.