Ezekiel 18:26 (KJV)

Passage

When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Ezekiel 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Ezekiel 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Ezekiel 18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

Ezekiel 18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "righteous", "turneth", "away", "righteousness", "committeth", "iniquity", and "dieth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "righteous" and "turneth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "Yet ye say The way of the..." into verse 27's "Again when the wicked man turneth away...", so "righteous" and "turneth" 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 "righteous" and "turneth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.