Ezekiel 18:14 (WEB)

Passage

“Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father’s sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:12 has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,

Ezekiel 18:13 has lent with interest, and has taken increase from the poor; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood will be on him.

Ezekiel 18:14 “Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father’s sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;

Ezekiel 18:15 who hasn’t eaten on the mountains, hasn’t lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hasn’t defiled his neighbor’s wife,

Ezekiel 18:16 hasn’t wronged any, hasn’t taken anything to pledge, hasn’t taken by robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "has lent with interest and has taken..." into verse 15's "who hasn t eaten on the mountains...", so "behold" and "fathers" 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 "fathers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.