a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
just
צַדִּ֑יקtza.Dik
H6662
just · adjective, masculine singular absolute
do
וְעָשָׂ֥הve.'a.Sah
H6213
to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
lawful
מִשְׁפָּ֖טmish.Pat
H4941
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
right
וּצְדָקָֽהu.tze.da.Kah
H6666
rightness (abstractly) · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
Proverbs 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and ju…
Psalms 15:2-5 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Psalms 24:4-6 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Matthew 7:21-27 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in he…
Romans 2:7-10 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 18:1-9
Evil manners, we say, beget good laws; and in like manner sometimes unjust reflections occasion just vindications; evil proverbs beget good prophecies. Here is,
I. An evil proverb commonly used by the Jews in their captivity. We had one before (Eze 12:22) and a reply to it; here we have another. That sets God's justice at defiance: "The days are prolonged and every vision fails; the threatenings are a jest." This charges him with injustice, as if the judgments executed were a wrong: "You use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, now that it is laid waste by the judgments of God, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge; we are punished for the…
Here begins the illustration of God's impartiality in a series of supposed cases. The first case is given in Eze 18:5-9, the just man. The excellencies are selected in reference to the prevailing sins of the age, from which such a one stood aloof; hence arises the omission of some features of righteousness, which, under different circumstances, would have been desirable to be enumerated. Each age has its own besetting temptations, and the just man will be distinguished by his guarding against the peculiar defilements, inward and outward, of his age.
just . . . lawful . . . right--the duties of the second table of the law, which flow from the fear of God. Piety is the root of all charity; t…
If a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right - If he be just or holy within, and do what is according to law and equity. What is meant by this, is immediately specified.
John Gill on Ezekiel 18:5
But if a man be just,.... Not legally, as to be wholly free from sin, for there is no such just man, Ecclesiastes 7:20; but evangelically, through the imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto him; and who has a principle of grace and holiness wrought in him; a man of a just principle and good conscience; who is disposed by the grace of God to that which is just and right; for this seems to refer to the inward frame of the mind, as distinct from actions, and as the source of them, as follows:
and do that which is lawful and right; or "judgment" (c) and "justice"; true judgment and justice, as the Targum; that which is just and right by the law of God, and is so between man and man; the…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 5, 6 and following) And if a man is just and does judgment and justice, does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not violate his neighbor's wife, does not approach a menstruating woman, does not oppress anyone, gives back a pledge to a debtor, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, covers the naked with clothing, does not lend at interest or take any increase, turns his hand away from iniquity, does justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my judgments, to do truth: this man is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord God. LXX; But the man who is righteous, who practices judgment and justice; who does not eat on the mountains, and does not lift up his eyes to the thoughts of the house of Israel; and does not defile his neighbor's wife, and does not approach a woman with menstrual impurity; and does not oppress a man; who returns a pledge to the debtor; and does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry; and covers the naked with clothing; and does not give his money at interest, and does not take more; who turns his hand away from injustice; who makes just judgments between a man and his neighbor; who walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances, to perform them: he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord God. He says, 'You wish to know what has been said: I shall render the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation (Deut. V, 9),' it does not mean what most people think; nor is it similar to this saying: 'The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge (Jerem. XXXI, 29).' Listen to what I am going to say: if there is a just father, who does these things, and the son does not do them, and he has an evil son, who, forsaking his father's virtues, surrenders himself to vices; will not the just son still live because he is just; and the other will die because he has committed all the things that the father became just by avoiding?' Let's see the catalog of virtues of the father, which seem to me to be divided into seventeen parts. The first of these is to exercise judgement; the second, similar to this, is to unite justice with judgement; the third is to not eat on the mountains; the fourth is to not lift one's eyes to idols, or as the Septuagint translates, to the thoughts of the house of Israel;…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Judgment · ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS — ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS
Pawn · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Responsibility · ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE — ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Works · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Ezekiel 18:5-9
5. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
5. Et vir si fuerit justus, et fecerit judicium et justitiam,
6. And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
6. Super montes non comederit, et oculos suos non extulerit ad idola [205] domus Israel, et uxorem socii sui [206] non polluerit, et ad mulierem menstruatam non accesserit,
7. And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garm…
The Righteous Man Shall Not Die
Eze 18:5. If a man is righteous, and doeth right and righteousness, Eze 18:6. And doth not eat upon the mountains, and doth not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and doth not defile his neighbour's wife, and doth not approach his wife in her uncleanness, Eze 18:7. Oppresseth no one, restoreth his security (lit., debt-pledge), committeth no robbery, giveth his bread to the hungry, and covereth the naked with clothes, Eze 18:8. Doth not give upon usury, and taketh not interest, withholdeth his hand from wrong, executeth judgment of truth between one and another, Eze 18:9. Walketh in my statutes, and keepeth my rights to execute truth; he is r…
God’s justice is worked out in a case study by following three hypothetical generations. In the first generation, a righteous man was faithful in worshiping the Lord, sexually pure, and fair in dealing with others. A person who lives like that has no need to fear God’s judgment.
Rashi on Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are Mine So why should the son who did not sin against Me suffer? Is he not Mine?
