| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying: |
The word of the LORD – The 18th chapter of Ezekiel relates specially to the time when the Adamic transgression will be offset by the New covenant. Naught will remain against believers but their own misconduct. R2017:3[R2017]
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| 2 What occasion have, ye, to be using this proverb, concerning the soil of Israel, saying,–Fathers, eat sour grapes, And, the children's teeth, are blunted? |
The fathers – Adam and his descendants, our ancestors. A109;[A109] R2220:2[R2220], R2608:5[R2608]
Have eaten – Those who claim that God directly creates every human being, make out that God is responsible for all the idiocy, insanity and imbecility in the world. E309[E309]
Sour grapes – Of human sin and weakness. R4881:2, R2050:6, R3133:6; E309
And – In consequence. R2220:2
Children's teeth – By heredity, from their parents. R4881:2
Are set on edge – Now all suffer for what their fathers sowed. OV392:3
By sickness, misery and death which follows. A109
They are all depraved. E309
All of Adam's posterity are fallen, depraved, dying, as a result of his transgression. R2398:6
Illustrated by the nearly one-half of the human family who die in infancy--thus obviously not for their own sins. E331[E331]
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| 3 As I live, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, Surely ye shall have occasion no longer to use this proverb, in Israel. |
Ye shall not – During the Millennial age. R4971:4; E331; Q288:6
Any more – No longer will men be held accountable for Adam's sin. R5292:3; A143
The parents' sins will not be upon the children. R381:2
The Adamic sin and curse being canceled by the Redeemer, men will be freed from that condemnation. R492:5
The weakness of heredity shall no longer weigh men down. R892:4
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| 4 Lo! as for all persons, mine, they are, As, the person of the father, so, also the person of the son, mine, they are,–The person that sinneth, the same, shall die. |
All souls are mine – God does not leave the eternal destiny of a single soul to the faithfulness of parents, or pastor, or any one. R944:6
The soul – The being. E465; R282:1, R1221:5, R1377:6, R3027:5, R5578:6, R205:4, R277:1
It was not Adam's hand nor his body that sinned, but his soul, his intelligent will. CR170:1; R5611:3, R3174:1; Q835:T
Because of sin, all souls die. To redeem our souls, our Lord became a human soul and "made his soul an offering for sin." (Isa. 53:12) Therefore there is a resu R3027:5, R3854:5; HG135:3
That sinneth – Not the innocent children, as at present. E331
Wilfully and deliberately against full light and ability. R892
An individual and deliberate act. R649:5
All the wicked--not all the ignorant--will God destroy. HG197:2
It shall die – The Second Death. R3175:6, R381:2, R553:5, R5292:5; HG283:6
Not suffer eternal torment. R4982:5, R5318:2, R1039:6, R1196:1, R2607:3, R5753:5; CR269:6; CR293:4; CR492:1; CR498:6; OV362:3, OV376:2; SM86:3, SM171:T, SM520:2, SM663:2; HG394:6; HG707:2*; A128
The penalty for sin was not dying, but death. E465
The spark of life produced the soul, so taking away the spark of life extinguishes the soul. R5611:3
"The wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36) E404
This scripture is not generally applicable to the present time because all now die--saints and sinners; it is expressed as a second sentence based on individual action and the context refers to those who are free from Adamic sin. E330
A truth applicable to the Gospel Church now and to the world during the Millennial reign, but not applicable to the Jews at the time of the utterance. R4881:1
The sinning soul, but none other. R363:1
It is the soul, the living, intelligent being, which enters into death. Q834:3; SM86:3; HG654:1
It was the soul that died; it is the soul that is to be resuscitated. Q836:4
The full penalty of the divine law. OV16:1
The just penalty for the unworthy. E404
The only penalty expressed against sin by the Creator and Lawgiver. R1983:3
God's law is that any creature who will not live in harmony with his law shall not live at all. R282:1
Everlasting punishment, but not everlasting torment. R2611:4; HG224:1
This shall always be the divine standard. HG233:1
Death is the absence of life, the loss of life. R3754:6
God gave us our existence and he has the power to deprive us of it if we do not use it properly. R363:1, R1882:1
If it dies it does not have any punishment, or any more pain after that. It has had its punishment. It is a great punishment to die. HG221:6
But the breath of life (the spirit), the energizing of life principle, was removed from the body and returned to God. Q837:4
Death is the sentence, and it is from death that the world must be awakened in order to know the privileges of divine grace. HG115:2
In direct opposition to Satan's lie to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die." R910:5
The first death, Adamic Death, was the death of the soul. HG356:5
Never in the chemical laboratory, with analysis, microscopes or scalpel, has any scientist ever been able to discover that a man has a soul that could not die. CR209:1*
"God is able to destroy both soul and body." (Matt. 10:28) CR169:6
That God could create a human soul, but could not destroy one, is absurd and unscriptural. OV34:1; HG334:5
"All the wicked will God destroy." (Psa. 145:20) R2607:3
"The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23) R2607:3
The Second Death is not an enemy, but a friend. R3175:6, R1219:4, R1511:4, R4999:6; Q261:1, Q623:6
None but wilful sinners will die in the Millennium. R1073:2
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| 5 But, when, any man, shall be righteous,–and do justice and righteousness: |
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| 6 Upon the mountains, hath not eaten, And, his eyes, hath not lifted up unto the manufactured gods of the house of Israel, And, the wife of his neighbour, hath not defiled, And, unto a woman during her removal, hath not approached;
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| 7 And, no man, hath treated with violence, But, his debt-pledge, hath restored, Plunder, hath not seized,–His bread–to the famished, hath given, And, the naked, hath covered with clothing; |
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| 8 Upon interest, hath not put out [his money], And, increase, hath not accepted, From dishonesty, hath turned back his hand,–Justice, in truth, hath done, between man and man; |
Usury – The meaning of the English word "usury" has somewhat changed--now it indicates oppressive interest. Formerly its meaning was, simply, interest. R1995:1[R1995]
We do not understand the taking of a reasonable interest to be usury. R1994:5[R1994]
A reasonable proportion of the profit would not be usury; but there might be circumstances where even a small interest might mean oppression and injury. R1994:6[R1994]
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| 9 In my statutes, hath walked, And, my regulations, hath observed, to do them in truth, Righteous, he is, He shall, surely live, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. |
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| 10 But he hath begotten a son, Who is a violent man, A shedder of blood,–Who doeth the like of any of these things; |
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| 11 Whereas, he, none of those other things, doeth, For indeed, upon the mountains, he hath eaten, And, the wife of his neighbour, hath defiled; |
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| 12 The oppressed and the needy, hath treated with violence, Hath ruthlessly plundered, The pledge, hath not restored, But, unto the manufactured gods, hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination, hath wrought; |
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| 13 Upon interest, hath put out, And, increase, hath accepted,–And shall he, live? He shall not live, All these abominations, he hath done, He shall, surely be put to death, His blood, upon himself, shall be. |
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| 14 But lo! he hath begotten a son, Who hath considered all the sins of his father, which he hath done,–Yea he hath considered, and not done like them: |
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| 15 Upon the mountains, hath not eaten, And, his eyes, hath not lifted up unto the manufactured gods of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour, hath not defiled; |
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| 16 And, no man, hath he treated with violence, Hath, by no means withholden the pledge, And, plunder, hath not seized,–His bread–to the famished, hath given, And, the naked, hath covered with clothing; |
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| 17 From dishonesty, hath turned back his hand, Neither interest nor increase, hath accepted, my regulations, hath executed, In my statutes, hath walked,–He, shall not die for the iniquity of his father, He shall, surely live. |
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| 18 His father, Because he exacted unjust gain, Seized plunder of a brother, And, that which was not good, had done in the midst of his people, Therefore lo! he died, in his iniquity. |
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| 19 Will ye then say, Why, hath not the son, borne a part of the iniquity of the father? But, the son, hath done, justice and righteousness, All my statutes, hath observed and done them, He shall, surely live. |
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| 20 The person that sinneth, the same, shall die,–A, son, shall not bear a part of the iniquity of, the father, Neither shall, a father, bear a part of the iniquity of the son, the righteousness of the righteous, upon himself, shall be, And, the lawlessness of a lawless man, upon himself, shall be. |
The soul that sinneth – See comments on verse 4.
Verses 20 to 32 give the rules of the coming age. R2613:3
The son shall not bear – Each will have an individual trial, just as in Adam's case, and each will be sentenced for himself. R1222:4, R2117:4[R2117], R2606:3
No one will die again on account of another; no one live again on account of another. R527:6*
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| 21 But, as for the lawless man–When he shall turn back from all his sins which he hath committed, And observe all my statutes, And do justice and righteousness, He shall, surely live, He shall not die: |
Keep all my statutes – Implies also the pondering and study of them. R2016:6
Shall surely live – The evildoer, coming to God with full repentance, is forgiven and received into God's family. R5781:2
Verses 21 to 24 present the principle of divine justice. R4986:5
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| 22 None of his transgressions which he hath committed, shall be remembered against him,–In his righteousness which he hath done, he shall live. |
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| 23 Could I take, delight, in the death of the lawless? Demandeth My Lord, Yahweh. Must it not be in his turning from his ways [in which case] he shall live? |
Have I any pleasure – The destruction of the incorrigible shows God's unceasing hatred of sin. R1782:1
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| 24 But, when a righteous man, shall turn away, from his righteousness and do that which is perverse, Shall do, according to all the abominations which the lawless man hath done, Shall he, live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done, shall be remembered, In his treachery wherein he hath been treacherous, And in his sin wherein he hath sinned, In them, shall he, die. |
Not be mentioned – If he sins wilfully, his past good deeds will not be remembered. R5781:2
Every act, down to the last, has to do with the sentence of the trial. R4986:5
Differing from the reasoning that a man's life should be judged by the whole, and not by the failures in it. R2016:6
Contradicting the concept of "once in grace, always in grace." R4971:2
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| 25 Can ye then say–The way of My Lord, will not be equal? Hear, I pray you, O house of Israel, Will, my way, not be equal? Will not, your ways, be unequal? |
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| 26 When a righteous man, shall turn away, from his righteousness and do that which is perverse, and die because of those things, In his own perversity which he hath done, shall he die. |
Dieth in them – Unrepentant. R2017:1
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| 27 But, when a lawless man, turneth away, from his lawlessness which he hath done, And hath done justice and righteousness, He, shall save, his own soul, alive: |
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| 28 When he considered, then he turned away from all his transgressions, which he had committed, He shall, surely live, He shall not die. |
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| 29 Can the house of Israel then say,–The way of My Lord, will not be equal? Will, my ways, not be equal, O house of Israel? Will not, your ways, be unequal? |
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| 30 Therefore, Every man according to his own ways, will I judge you, O house of Israel, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, Return ye–and make good your return–from all your transgressions, That they become not unto you a stumbling-block of iniquity. |
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| 31 Cast off from you, all your transgressions which ye have committed against me, And make you a new heart; And a new spirit,–For why, should ye die, O house of Israel? |
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| 32 For I cannot take delight in the death of him that dieth, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, Make good your return then, and, live! |
I have no pleasure – Ours is a merciful God. CR277:4
He desires to "have all men to be saved." (1 Tim. 2:4) E466, E467
The destruction of the incorrigible shows God's unceasing hatred of sin. R1782:1
He willeth not the death of him that dieth, but would (prefer) that all should turn unto him and live. R1026:5, R2398:6
Nevertheless, when Adam chose disobedience, God pronounced the penalty. E468
Not that he does not "will" the death of the sinner, for it is his will that the "soul that sinneth, it shall die." R1449:6*
God changes not. He has always had this good will toward his creatures. E467
Him that dieth – The Second Death is not an enemy, but a friend. R3175:6, R1219:4, R4999:6, R1511:4; Q261:1, Q623:6
Turn yourselves – Choose life by complying with the conditions on which God says we may have it. R363:1
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