Ezekiel 18:31 (GNV)

Passage

Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye haue transgressed, and make you a newe heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:29 Yet saith ye house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equall. O house of Israel, are not my wayes equall? or are not your wayes vnequall?

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will iudge you, O house of Israel, euery one according to his wayes, sayth the Lord God: returne therefore and cause others to turne away from all your transgressions: so iniquitie shall not be your destruction.

Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye haue transgressed, and make you a newe heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I desire not the death of him that dyeth, sayth the Lord God: cause therefore one another to returne, and liue ye.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "transgressions", "cast", "away", "whereby", "haue", "transgressed", and "make". 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 I will iudge you O house..." 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.