Ezekiel 18:25 (YLT)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

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?

Ezekiel 18:26 In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, And he is dying by them, for his perversity That he hath done he dieth.

Ezekiel 18:27 And in the turning back of the wicked From his wickedness that he hath done, And he doth judgment and righteousness, He his soul doth keep alive.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "pondered", "lord", "hear", "pray", "house", "israel", and "way--is". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "pondered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "And in the turning back of the..." into verse 26's "In the turning back of the righteous...", so "said" and "pondered" 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 "pondered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.