Ezekiel 18:31 (YLT)

Passage

Cast from off you all your transgressions, By which ye have transgressed, And make to you a new heart, and a new spirit, And why do ye die, O house of Israel?

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 18:29 And the house of Israel have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord, My ways--are they not pondered? O house of Israel--are not your ways unpondered?

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore, each according to his ways I judge you, O house of Israel? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Turn ye back, yea, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not to you for a stumbling-block,

Ezekiel 18:31 Cast from off you all your transgressions, By which ye have transgressed, And make to you a new heart, and a new spirit, And why do ye die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And turn ye back and live!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "transgressions", "cast", "transgressed", "make", "heart", "house", and "israel". 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 each according to his ways I..." 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.