The Meaning of Ezekiel 3:20 Explained

Ezekiel 3:20

KJV: Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

YLT: 'And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he hath done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dieth; because thou hast not warned him, in his sin he dieth, and not remembered is his righteousness that he hath done, and his blood from thy hand I require.

Darby: And when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and do what is wrong, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous acts which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

ASV: Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Again,  When a righteous  [man] doth turn  from his righteousness,  and commit  iniquity,  and I lay  a stumblingblock  before  him, he shall die:  because thou hast not given him warning,  he shall die  in his sin,  and his righteousness  which he hath done  shall not be remembered;  but his blood  will I require  at thine hand. 

What does Ezekiel 3:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Similarly if a righteous person turned to sin and Ezekiel failed to warn him of its consequences, even though the Lord would put him to death, the Lord would hold Ezekiel responsible for not warning him. The obstacle that the Lord promised to put in the path of the righteous man who had turned aside to sin was the warning that Ezekiel should provide.
"The saint needs the watchman"s warnings as much as the sinner does." [1]

Context Summary

Ezekiel 3:12-27 - The Watchman's Responsibility
He was bitter because of his message, but hot because God's fire was burning within him. It is a blessed thing for preacher, leader, or Christian worker, when the hand of God is strong upon the soul. But whatever your inward condition, you will never be able to do your best work, unless you can sit where the people sit. In other words you must take their attitude, know by experience their circumstances, and share their lot. We must live very near to God, or we shall never hear the word of His mouth. There is no other way of obtaining messages that will effect His purpose. Ponder again Ezekiel 3:17. In Ezekiel 3:20 God is said to lay a stumbling-block only in the sense that He has constituted the world in that way. When the prophet went forth into the plain God revealed Himself. Whether He bids us go to the plain, or shut ourselves in the house, the place of obedience and duty will ever be the right one for the manifestation of His glory and the communication of His message. The secret of a successful ministry is to be absolutely yielded in thought and in speech to God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 3

1  Ezekiel eats the scroll
4  God encourages him
15  God shows him the rule of prophecy
22  God shuts and opens the prophet's mouth

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 3:20 mean?

And Again when turns a righteous [man] from his righteousness and commits iniquity and I lay a stumbling block before him he shall die because not you did give him warning in his sin he shall die and not shall be remembered his righteousness which he has done but his blood at your hand I will require
וּבְשׁ֨וּב צַדִּ֤יק מִצִּדְקוֹ֙ וְעָ֣שָׂה עָ֔וֶל וְנָתַתִּ֥י מִכְשׁ֛וֹל לְפָנָ֖יו ה֣וּא יָמ֑וּת כִּ֣י לֹ֤א הִזְהַרְתּוֹ֙ בְּחַטָּאת֣וֹ יָמ֔וּת וְלֹ֣א תִזָּכַ֗רְןָ צִדְקֹתָו֙‪‬ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְדָמ֖וֹ מִיָּדְךָ֥ אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ

וּבְשׁ֨וּב  And  Again  when  turns 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
צַדִּ֤יק  a  righteous  [man] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: צַדִּיק  
Sense: just, lawful, righteous.
מִצִּדְקוֹ֙  from  his  righteousness 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
וְעָ֣שָׂה  and  commits 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
עָ֔וֶל  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָוֶל 
Sense: injustice, unrighteousness, wrong.
וְנָתַתִּ֥י  and  I  lay 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
מִכְשׁ֛וֹל  a  stumbling  block 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִכְשֹׁול  
Sense: a stumbling, means or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block.
לְפָנָ֖יו  before  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יָמ֑וּת  shall  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
כִּ֣י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הִזְהַרְתּוֹ֙  you  did  give  him  warning 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: זָהַר 
Sense: to admonish, warn, teach, shine, send out light, be light, be shining.
בְּחַטָּאת֣וֹ  in  his  sin 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
יָמ֔וּת  he  shall  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְלֹ֣א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִזָּכַ֗רְןָ  shall  be  remembered 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
צִדְקֹתָו֙‪‬  his  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
עָשָׂ֔ה  he  has  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
וְדָמ֖וֹ  but  his  blood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
מִיָּדְךָ֥  at  your  hand 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
אֲבַקֵּֽשׁ  I  will  require 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.