Ezekiel 18:4 (GNV)

Passage

Beholde, all soules are mine, both the soule of the father, and also the soule of the sonne are mine: the soule that sinneth, it shall die.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:2 What meane ye that ye speake this prouerbe, concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers haue eaten sowre grapes, and the childrens teeth are set on edge?

Ezekiel 18:3 As I liue, sayth the Lord God, ye shall vse this prouerbe no more in Israel.

Ezekiel 18:4 Beholde, all soules are mine, both the soule of the father, and also the soule of the sonne are mine: the soule that sinneth, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:5 But if a man be iust, and doe that which is lawfull, and right,

Ezekiel 18:6 And hath not eaten vpon the mountaines, neither hath lift vp his eyes to the idoles of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbours wife, neither hath lyen with a menstruous woman,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beholde", "soules", "mine", "both", "father", and "sonne". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beholde" and "soules", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "As I liue sayth the Lord God..." into verse 5's "But if a man be iust and...", so "beholde" and "soules" 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 "beholde" and "soules" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.