Ezekiel 18:19 (DRB)

Passage

And you say: Why hath not the son borne the iniquity of his father? Verily, because the son hath wrought judgment and justice, hath kept all my commandments, and done them, living, he shall live.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:17 That hath turned away his hand from injuring the poor, hath not taken usury and increase, but hath executed my judgments, and hath walked in my commandments: this man shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but living he shall live.

Ezekiel 18:18 As for his father, because he oppressed and offered violence to his brother, and wrought evil in the midst of his people, behold he is dead in his own iniquity.

Ezekiel 18:19 And you say: Why hath not the son borne the iniquity of his father? Verily, because the son hath wrought judgment and justice, hath kept all my commandments, and done them, living, he shall live.

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, the same shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son: the justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Ezekiel 18:21 But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "borne", "iniquity", "father", "verily", "wrought", and "judgment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "borne", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "As for his father because he oppressed..." into verse 20's "The soul that sinneth the same shall...", so "hath" and "borne" 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 "hath" and "borne" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.