Bible Strands
Ezekiel 18:27
But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel to the exiled community of Israel, addressing individual moral responsibility during the Babylonian period. The immediate context contrasts this verse with the fate of a righteous person who abandons righteousness.
The words — The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv) translates literally as "turns away" or "returns," applied to רָשָׁע (rasha), "the wicked man." The text specifies departing from מִרִשְׁעָתוֹ (mirishto), "his wickedness," to actively perform מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה (mishpat u-tzedakah), "justice and righteousness."
The thread — This pattern of turning from sin to preserve life appears in Ezekiel 18:21 and Isaiah 55:7, while the promise of moral cleansing aligns with Isaiah 1:18. The surrounding verses (Ezekiel 18:26, 28) frame the passage as a direct counter to generational guilt.
Why it lands — The text requires a documented shift in behavior rather than internal sentiment, establishing that personal conduct directly dictates survival. It demands the reader examine specific actions rather than rely on inherited status.
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
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Ezekiel 18:21 But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
- Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Ezekiel 33:5 Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
- Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Acts 2:40 With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”
- Acts 20:21 testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Acts 26:20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
- 1 Timothy 4:16 Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.