Ezekiel 18:31 (WEB)

Passage

Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ House of Israel, aren’t my ways fair? Aren’t your ways unfair?

Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity will not be your ruin.

Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "transgressions", "cast", "away", "transgressed", "make", "yourself", and "heart". 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 judge you house of..." into verse 32's "For I have no pleasure in the...", 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.