Ezekiel 18:25 (ASV)

Passage

Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?

Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Ezekiel 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Ezekiel 18:26 When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth therein; in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Ezekiel 18:27 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "equal", "hear", "house", "israel", "ways", and "unequal". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "equal", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "But when the righteous turneth away from..." into verse 26's "When the righteous man turneth away from...", so "lord" and "equal" belong inside that flow. In Ezekiel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lord" and "equal" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.