Ezekiel 18:31 (DRB)

Passage

Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit: and why will you die, O house of Israel?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:29 And the children of Israel say: The way of the Lord is not right. Are not my ways right, O house of Israel, and are not rather your ways perverse?

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore will I judge every man according to his ways, O house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities: and iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit: and why will you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God, return ye and live.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "transgressions", "cast", "away", "transgressed", "make", "yourselves", 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 will I judge every man according..." into verse 32's "For I desire not the death of...", 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.