The Meaning of Ezekiel 18:3 Explained

Ezekiel 18:3

KJV: As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

YLT: I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Ye have no more the use of this simile in Israel.

Darby: As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have any more to use this proverb in Israel.

ASV: As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[As] I live,  saith  the Lord  GOD,  ye shall not have [occasion] any more to use  this proverb  in Israel. 

What does Ezekiel 18:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord instructed the people not to use this proverb in Israel any more. It implied something about God"s dealings with them that was not true. No one can excuse his or her sinfulness on the basis of his or her ancestors. Human beings are free to make their own decisions, and we are responsible for the consequences of those decisions.
"The implication is clear that man has the ability to determine his final condition." [1]
Other passages stress the sovereignty of God and may appear to contradict this clear revelation of human responsibility (e.g, Romans 9; Ephesians 1). Nevertheless both are true even though we cannot understand how both can be true. Their truthfulness lies in the truthfulness of the One who revealed them, not in our ability to comprehend them, which is limited by our humanity and obscured by our sinfulness.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 18

1  God defends his justice
31  and exhorts to repentance

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 18:3 mean?

live [As] I says the Lord GOD no you shall to longer use proverb this in Israel
חַי־ אָ֕נִי נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֑ה אִם־ יִֽהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם ע֗וֹד מְשֹׁ֛ל הַמָּשָׁ֥ל הַזֶּ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל

חַי־  live 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
אָ֕נִי  [As]  I 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
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’.
אִם־  no 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
יִֽהְיֶ֨ה  you  shall 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
ע֗וֹד  longer 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
מְשֹׁ֛ל  use 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מָשַׁל 
Sense: to represent, liken, be like.
הַמָּשָׁ֥ל  proverb 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָשָׁל  
Sense: proverb, parable.
הַזֶּ֖ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל  in  Israel 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.