Ezekiel 18:5 (DRB)

Passage

And if a man be just, and do judgment and justice,

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:3 As I live, saith the Lord God, this parable shall be no more to you a proverb in Israel.

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold all souls are mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, the same shall die.

Ezekiel 18:5 And if a man be just, and do judgment and justice,

Ezekiel 18:6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel: and hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, nor come near to a menstruous woman:

Ezekiel 18:7 And hath not wronged any man: but hath restored the pledge to the debtor, hath taken nothing away by violence: hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "just", "judgment", and "justice". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "just" and "judgment", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Behold all souls are mine as the..." into verse 6's "And hath not eaten upon the mountains...", so "just" and "judgment" 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 "just" and "judgment" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.