Ezekiel 18:20

The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Ezekiel addresses the exiled community’s question about inherited guilt, directly responding to their inquiry about whether a son must bear his father’s iniquity.

The words — The text emphasizes הַנֶּפֶשׁ (ha-nefesh, “the soul”) and תָּמ֑וּת (tamut, “it will die”) to establish that personal moral failure, not ancestral lineage, determines death. It further uses יִשָּׂא (yisa, “he will bear”) and עָוֹן (avon, “iniquity”) to explicitly negate the transfer of guilt between parent and child.

The thread — This principle of individual accountability appears in Ezekiel 18:4 and Deuteronomy 24:16, which both state that each person dies for their own sin. It is also reflected in 2 Kings 14:6, where the king refrains from executing the sons of the murderers as required by the Law.

Why it lands — The passage demands that readers accept personal responsibility for their own actions rather than blaming ancestors or claiming inherited punishment. It requires immediate repentance and righteous conduct as the sole conditions for life.

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

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.

Cross-references

2 Kings 14:6 Yet he did not put the sons of the murderers to death, but acted according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”
Deuteronomy 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Jeremiah 31:29 “In those days, it will no longer be said: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’
2 Chronicles 25:4 Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
1 Kings 8:32 then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
Romans 2:6 God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
2 Chronicles 6:23 then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.