Ezekiel 18:23 (YLT)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

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?

Ezekiel 18:24 And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked hath done, he doth--thus he liveth, All his righteousnesses that he hath done are not remembered, For his trespass that he hath trespassed, And for his sin that he hath sinned, For them he doth die.

Ezekiel 18:25 And ye have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord. Hear, I pray you, O house of Israel, My way--is it not pondered? Are not your ways unpondered?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "desire", "death", "wicked", "affirmation", "lord", "jehovah", "turning", and "back". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "desire" and "death", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "All his transgressions that he hath done..." into verse 24's "And in the turning back of the...", so "desire" and "death" 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 "desire" and "death" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.