Doesn't Ezekiel say a righteous man who turns away will die?
Ezekiel 18, and the life and death the law set before Israel.
The short answer Settled
Yes, under the law, in this life. The warning is about the life and death the law set before Israel, not about losing eternal life.
The law's terms
The chapter is spoken to the "house of Israel" (). The righteous man is the one who keeps the law: "He is just; He shall surely live!" (). God gave Israel statutes "which, if a man does, he shall live by them" (). Paul quotes that promise and says, "the law is not of faith" (). It is not how anyone receives eternal life.
Death in this life
Ezekiel says of the wicked son, "He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him" (), the law's words for a man put to death (). Moses said that turning away meant "you shall not prolong your days in the land" ().
God was answering Israel's complaint that children were punished for their fathers' sins: "The soul who sins shall die" (). Each man would be judged by how he was living, and his past good deeds would not spare him. God ends with a call: "Therefore turn and live!" ().
The usual objection
The man in is called righteous. He turns away, his righteousness "shall not be remembered," and he will die. On this view he was right with God, then lost it, and the death is eternal.
The life promised was the law's life, and the death was the law's death, in the land. Eternal life is not received by keeping the law: "no one is justified by the law in the sight of God" ().
The words behind it
| Word | Where | Form | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| צַדִּיק הוּא חָיֹה יִחְיֶה ṣaddîq hû’ ḥāyōh yiḥyeh, "He is just; He shall surely live" (Strong's 6662, 2421) | Adjective; doubled verb | The law's promise to the man who keeps it. | |
| וָחַי בָּהֶם wāḥay bāhem, "he shall live by them" (2425) | Perfect with "and" | Life by doing the statutes. | |
| ὁ δὲ νόμος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ πίστεως ho de nomos ouk estin ek pisteōs, "the law is not of faith" (3551, 4102) | Present indicative, negated | Paul says this promise is not how faith receives life. | |
| מוֹת יוּמָת דָּמָיו בּוֹ יִהְיֶה môṯ yûmāṯ dāmāyw bô yihyeh, "He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him" (4191, 1818) | Doubled verb, passive | The law's words for a man put to death (). | |
| לֹא תַאֲרִיכֻן יָמִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה lō’ ṯa’ărîḵun yāmîm ‘al-hā’ăḏāmâ, "you shall not prolong your days in the land" (748, 3117, 127) | Imperfect, negated | Death meant days cut short in the land. |
No textual variants affect the conclusion.
This study checks the Greek Received Text against the Majority Text, and the written Hebrew against its traditional reading. If a difference could change a conclusion, this note explains it. Otherwise it says that none does.