Ezekiel 3:20

Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God speaks to Ezekiel within the watchman commission (Ezekiel 3:17-21), presenting the third scenario: a righteous man who falls and the prophet who failed to warn him.

The words — מִכְשׁוֹל (mikhshol), "an obstacle," is what God Himself places before the righteous man; the Hebrew makes the fall not merely a lapse but a divinely situated trap.

The thread — The same logic recurs in Ezekiel 18:24, 18:26, and 33:12, where prior righteousness is explicitly stated not to deliver on the day of judgment.

Why it lands — It removes any assumption that a track record of righteousness is a permanent asset, and it assigns the prophet (and by extension the reader) a concrete obligation: to warn, or to share in the consequence.

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

וּבְשׁ֨וּבu./ve./Shuvand/ when/ turns away צַדִּ֤יקtza.Dika righteous [person]מִצִּדְקוֹ֙mi./tzid.K/ofrom/ righteousness/ his וְעָ֣שָׂהve./'A.sahand/ he will do עָ֔וֶל'A.velinjustice וְנָתַתִּ֥יve./na.ta.Tiand/ I will put מִכְשׁ֛וֹלmikh.Sholan obstacle לְפָנָ֖יוle./fa.Na/v<to>/ before/ him ה֣וּאhu'he יָמ֑וּתya.Muthe will die כִּ֣יkiif לֹ֤אlo'not הִזְהַרְתּוֹ֙hiz.har.T/oyou warned/ him בְּחַטָּאת֣וֹbe./cha.ta.T/ofor/ sin/ his יָמ֔וּתya.Muthe will die וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not תִזָּכַ֗רְןָti.za.Khar.nathey will be remembered צִדְקֹתָיו֙tzid.ko.Ta/vrighteousness<es>/ his אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich עָשָׂ֔ה'a.Sahhe did וְדָמ֖וֹve./da.M/oand/ blood/ his מִיָּדְךָ֥mi./ya.de./Khafrom/ hand/ your אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ׃'a.va.KeshI will require

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 18:24 But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.
Ezekiel 33:12 Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’
Ezekiel 18:26 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed.
Ezekiel 3:18 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.
Romans 2:7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
Hebrews 10:38 But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
2 Peter 2:18 With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
Psalms 119:165 Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.
Isaiah 8:14 And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.