Ezekiel 18:18 (DBY)

Passage

As for his father, because he practised oppression, exercised robbery upon his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:16 and hath not oppressed any, nor withholden the pledge, neither hath exercised robbery; he hath given his bread to the hungry, and covered the naked with a garment;

Ezekiel 18:17 he hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, [and] walked in my statutes: he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall certainly live.

Ezekiel 18:18 As for his father, because he practised oppression, exercised robbery upon his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity.

Ezekiel 18:19 And ye say, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? But the son hath done judgment and justice, hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them; he shall certainly live.

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "father", "practised", "oppression", "exercised", "robbery", "upon", "brother", and "good". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "father" and "practised", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "he hath withdrawn his hand from the..." into verse 19's "And ye say Why doth not the...", so "father" and "practised" 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 "father" and "practised" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.