Ezekiel 18:31 (ASV)

Passage

Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "transgressions", "cast", "away", "wherein", "transgressed", "make", and "heart". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "transgressions", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "Therefore I will judge you O house..." into verse 32's "For I have no pleasure in the...", so "Spirit" and "transgressions" 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 "Spirit" and "transgressions" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.