The Meaning of Ezekiel 18:23 Explained

Ezekiel 18:23

KJV: Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

YLT: 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?

Darby: Have I any pleasure at all in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; is it not in his turning from his way, that he may live?

ASV: Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Have I any pleasure  at all  that the wicked  should die?  saith  the Lord  GOD:  [and] not that he should return  from his ways,  and live? 

What does Ezekiel 18:23 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God explained that He took no delight in people dying because of their sins. What gave Him pleasure was their turning from their sinful conduct and so continuing to live.
"Such a longing should be shared by every preacher who ventures to speak about the judgment of God." [1]

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 18:23 mean?

Do any at all I have pleasure that should die the wicked says the Lord GOD not [and] that he should turn from his ways and live -
הֶחָפֹ֤ץ אֶחְפֹּץ֙ ؟ מ֣וֹת רָשָׁ֔ע נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה הֲל֛וֹא בְּשׁוּב֥וֹ מִדְּרָכָ֖יו ؟ וְחָיָֽה ס

הֶחָפֹ֤ץ  Do  any  at  all 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: חָפֵץ 
Sense: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
אֶחְפֹּץ֙  I  have  pleasure 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: חָפֵץ 
Sense: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
؟ מ֣וֹת  that  should  die 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
רָשָׁ֔ע  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
נְאֻ֖ם  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
אֲדֹנָ֣י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֑ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
בְּשׁוּב֥וֹ  [and]  that  he  should  turn 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
מִדְּרָכָ֖יו  from  his  ways 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
؟ וְחָיָֽה  and  live 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, 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.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation