Passage
And ye have said, Wherefore hath not the son, Borne of the iniquity of the father? And--the son judgment and righteousness hath done, All My statutes he hath kept, And he doeth them, he surely liveth.
Ezekiel 18:19 (YLT)
Nearby Context
Ezekiel 18:17 From the afflicted he hath turned back his hand, Usury and increase he hath not taken, My judgments he hath done, In My statutes he hath walked, He doth not die for the iniquity of his father, He doth surely live.
Ezekiel 18:18 His father--because he used oppression, Did violently Plunder a brother, And that which <FI>is<Fi> not good did in the midst of his people, And lo, he is dying in his iniquity.
Ezekiel 18:19 And ye have said, Wherefore hath not the son, Borne of the iniquity of the father? And--the son judgment and righteousness hath done, All My statutes he hath kept, And he doeth them, he surely liveth.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that doth sin--it doth die. A son doth not bear of the iniquity of the father, And a father doth not bear of the iniquity of the son, The righteousness of the righteous is on him, And the wickedness of the wicked is on him.
Ezekiel 18:21 And the wicked--when he turneth back From all his sins that he hath done, And he hath kept all My statutes, And hath done judgment and righteousness, He doth surely live, he doth not die.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "said", "wherefore", "hath", "borne", "iniquity", "father", "and--the", and "judgment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "wherefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 18's "His father--because he used oppression Did violently..." into verse 20's "The soul that doth sin--it doth die...", so "said" and "wherefore" 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 "said" and "wherefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.