Ezekiel 18:14 (LSB)

Passage

“Now behold, he has a son who has seen all his father’s sins which he has done. And he saw this but does not do likewise.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:12 he mistreats the afflicted and needy, commits robbery, does not return a pledge, but lifts up his eyes to the idols and does abominations;

Ezekiel 18:13 he lends money on interest and takes increase; will he live? He will not live! He has done all these abominations; he will surely be put to death; his blood will be on himself.

Ezekiel 18:14 “Now behold, he has a son who has seen all his father’s sins which he has done. And he saw this but does not do likewise.

Ezekiel 18:15 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife

Ezekiel 18:16 or mistreat anyone, or retain a pledge or commit robbery, but he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "seen", "father", "sins", "done", "does", and "likewise". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "seen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "he lends money on interest and takes..." into verse 15's "He does not eat at the mountain...", so "behold" and "seen" 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 "behold" and "seen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.