Ezekiel 3:21 (ASV)

Passage

Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 3:19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 3:20 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 righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Ezekiel 3:21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 3:22 And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

Ezekiel 3:23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nevertheless", "thou", "warn", "righteous", "doth", "shall", and "surely". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nevertheless" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Again when a righteous man doth turn..." into verse 22's "And the hand of Jehovah was there...", so "nevertheless" and "thou" 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 "nevertheless" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.