Ezekiel 18:21 (YLT)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Ezekiel 18:22 All his transgressions that he hath done Are not remembered to him, In his righteousness that he hath done he liveth.

Ezekiel 18:23 Do I at all desire the death of the wicked? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Is it not in his turning back from his way--And he hath lived?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wicked--when", "turneth", "back", "sins", "hath", "done", and "kept". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wicked--when" and "turneth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "The soul that doth sin--it doth die..." into verse 22's "All his transgressions that he hath done...", so "wicked--when" and "turneth" 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 "wicked--when" and "turneth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.