Ezekiel 18:18 (GNV)

Passage

His father, because he cruelly oppressed and spoyled his brother by violence, and hath not done good among his people, loe, euen he dyeth in his iniquitie.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, nor hath withholden the pledge, neither hath spoyled by violence, but hath giuen his bread to the hungry, and hath couered the naked with a garment,

Ezekiel 18:17 Neither hath withdrawen his hand from the afflicted, nor receiued vsurie nor increase, but hath executed my iudgements, and hath walked in my statutes, he shall not die in the iniquitie of his father, but he shall surely liue.

Ezekiel 18:18 His father, because he cruelly oppressed and spoyled his brother by violence, and hath not done good among his people, loe, euen he dyeth in his iniquitie.

Ezekiel 18:19 Yet say ye, Wherefore shall not the sonne beare the iniquitie of the father? because ye sonne hath executed iudgement and iustice, and hath kept all my statutes, and done them, he shall surely liue,

Ezekiel 18:20 The same soule that sinneth, shall die: the sonne shall not beare the iniquitie of the father, neither shall the father beare the iniquitie of the sonne, but the righteousnes of the righteous shall be vpon him, and the wickednesse of the wicked shall be vpon him selfe.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "father", "cruelly", "oppressed", "spoyled", "brother", "violence", "hath", and "done". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "father" and "cruelly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Neither hath withdrawen his hand from the..." into verse 19's "Yet say ye Wherefore shall not the...", so "father" and "cruelly" 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 "cruelly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.