The Meaning of Ezekiel 18:22 Explained

Ezekiel 18:22

KJV: All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

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

Darby: None of his transgressions which he hath committed shall be remembered against him; in his righteousness which he hath done shall he live.

ASV: None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

All his transgressions  that he hath committed,  they shall not be mentioned  unto him: in his righteousness  that he hath done  he shall live. 

What does Ezekiel 18:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Ezekiel 18:14-32 - The Reversal Of The Divine Judgment
The Jews of Ezekiel's day asserted that God's dealings with their nation were not just, because they were suffering, not for their own sins, but for their fathers'. God here makes it clear that He deals with individuals according to their deserts. The guilty son of a good father does not escape punishment because of his father's virtues; and the good son of evil parents reaps the reward of his own goodness. What a well of comfort is supplied by Ezekiel 18:21-22! God pledges Himself that forgiven sin shall not even be mentioned. This solemn covenant should be appropriated and its fulfillment claimed, by those who through all their lifetime have been subject to bondage because of their past. We must not be content with an outward amendment; there must be, and there can be, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, an inward and radical change. This impossible command drives us to the Holy Spirit, Psalms 51:10; Psalms 51:12. As Augustine puts it: "Give what thou requirest, and require what thou wilt." [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 18

1  God defends his justice
31  and exhorts to repentance

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 18:22 mean?

Of the transgressions which he has committed none shall be remembered against him because of the righteousness which he has done he shall live
כָּל־ פְּשָׁעָיו֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה לֹ֥א יִזָּכְר֖וּ ל֑וֹ בְּצִדְקָת֥וֹ אֲשֶׁר־ עָשָׂ֖ה יִֽחְיֶֽה

פְּשָׁעָיו֙  the  transgressions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פֶּשַׁע  
Sense: transgression, rebellion.
עָשָׂ֔ה  he  has  committed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
לֹ֥א  none 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִזָּכְר֖וּ  shall  be  remembered 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
ל֑וֹ  against  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
בְּצִדְקָת֥וֹ  because  of  the  righteousness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
עָשָׂ֖ה  he  has  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
יִֽחְיֶֽה  he  shall  live 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.