Ezekiel 18:23 · Bible study
Ezekiel 18:23 Commentary: God's Heart for Repentance and Life
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine God's rhetorical question: Does He take pleasure in the death of the wicked?
Research Summary
- Meaning: God’s rhetorical question reveals His heart: He does not delight in the death of the wicked, but desires their repentance and life.
- Key words: “pleasure” (God’s disposition), “death” (judgment), “wicked” (the one who persists in sin), “return” (repentance), “live” (the promised outcome).
- Main debate: Does this imply a universal salvific will (God desires all to be saved) or a conditional offer of life upon repentance?
- Theological theme: Divine mercy and justice are not opposed; God’s justice serves His mercy by calling sinners to turn.
- Best use: Preaching and teaching on God’s character, the nature of repentance, and the hope of restoration for those who feel beyond redemption.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?
WEB World English Bible 2000
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” says the Lord Yahweh, “and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
KJV King James Version 1769
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?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
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 Darby Bible 1890
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?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Is it my will that a sinner should die, saith the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ Quiero|strong="H2654, H2654" yo la muerte del impío? dice el Señor Jehová. ¿ No vivirá, si se apartare de sus caminos?
Por acaso eu prefiro a morte do ímpio?,diz o Senhor DEUS, E não que ele se converta de seus caminhos, e viva?
Ce que je désire, est-ce que le méchant meure? Dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel. N’est-ce pas qu’ il change de conduite et qu’ il vive?
Meinest du, daß ich Gefallen habe am Tode des Gottlosen, spricht der Herr, und nicht vielmehr, daß er sich bekehre von seinem Wesen und lebe?
Zou Ik enigzins lust hebben aan den dood des goddelozen, spreekt de Heere HEERE; is het niet, als hij zich bekeert van zijn wegen, dat hij leve?
Provo io forse piacere se l’empio muore? dice il Signore, l’Eterno. Non ne provo piuttosto quand’egli si converte dalle sue vie e vive?
Azaż Ja się kocham w śmierci niepobożnego? mrwi panujący Pan. Izali nie raczej, gdy się odwróci od dróg swoich, aby żył?
Разве Я хочу смерти беззаконника? говорит Господь Бог. Не того ли, чтобы он обратился от путей своих и был жив?
主 耶和華 說：惡人 死亡，豈是我喜悅的嗎？不是 喜悅 他回頭 離開所行的道 存活嗎？
Have I any pleasure in the death of the evil-doer? says the Lord: am I not pleased if he is turned from his way so that he may have life?
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
The main thread running through these commentaries is clear: God does not find pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires their repentance and life. This is not presented as an abstract theological statement but as the driving motive behind the whole chapter. Adam Clarke calls God's nature 'love' and 'mercy,' so death of the sinner is 'foreign to him.' Calvin agrees that 'God desires nothing more earnestly than that those who were perishing should return into the way of safety.' Matthew Henry calls this an 'encouragement to repentance.' Even Gill, who notes that God takes pleasure in the death of the wicked as it fulfills His justice, quickly adds that this is His 'strange work' and that mercy is His delight 'comparatively.' The Cambridge Bible sees the verse as meeting the despair of exiles who believed God had abandoned them. All agree: God's disposition is toward life, not death, but the offer of life is tied to the condition of turning from sin. This is not a promise of universal salvation apart from repentance; it is a revelation of God's heart that calls for a response.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Universal salvific will: This view argues that God genuinely desires every wicked person to repent and be saved (based on 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Ezekiel 18:23 and 32 are taken as expressions of a universal intention.
- Conditional desire within election: This view holds that God desires the repentance and life of the wicked in a general sense, but this desire is not independent of His sovereign choice and the necessary condition of human repentance (Calvin, Gill). The immediate context (v. 21-24) requires a response.
- Pastoral reassurance against despair: This view sees the verse primarily as a pastoral statement to exiles who felt God had abandoned them. The desire is real, but it is a call to turn, not a blanket promise of salvation for all (Cambridge Bible, Lange).
What is clear: Regardless of the view, all traditions agree that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked as an end in itself; His heart is for life, and He actively calls sinners to repentance.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| God’s desire for the wicked to be saved | All major traditions agree that God does not delight in the death of the wicked; He desires that sinners repent and live. | Arminian/Wesleyan traditions see this as evidence of God's universal salvific will for every person. Reformed traditions (e.g., Calvin) agree God desires repentance, but clarify that this desire operates within the framework of divine election and does not imply a universal salvation apart from sovereign grace. |
| Conditionality of the promise | The verse is set within a context that links life to repentance (Ezekiel 18:21-22, 27-28). Both sides agree that turning from sin is necessary for the promised life. | Some (like Adam Clarke) emphasize that God's pleasure is so opposed to death that He could not have decreed anyone to damnation without contradiction. Others (like Gill) argue that God does take pleasure in the death of the wicked as it glorifies His justice, but relatively speaking, mercy is His delight. |
| Relationship to divine justice | God is just and merciful; both are aspects of His character. The verse does not deny that judgment occurs. | Calvin insists that God 'does not so wish all men to be saved as to renounce the difference between good and evil.' The Cambridge Bible sees the verse as a call to fall back on God's unchanging mercy after the collapse of the covenant. The debate centers on how far God's desire extends: to all people without distinction, or to all who hear and repent. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel 18 was written to the Jewish exiles in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. These were people reeling from national disaster. A popular proverb had taken root: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge' (Ezekiel 18:2). The exiles felt they were suffering for their ancestors’ sins, not their own. This fatalism led to despair, both about their own condition and about God’s character. They saw God as arbitrary, punishing the innocent. The Cambridge Bible notes that the people's despair took two forms: despair over themselves ('We pine away in our iniquities, how should we live?' from Ezekiel 33:10) and despair over God ('Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through' from Lamentations 3:44).
Into this crisis, Ezekiel delivers a stern corrective. Chapter 18 systematically argues for individual responsibility. Verses 1-20 teach that each person is judged for their own sin, not their parents'. Then verses 21-24 address the dynamic of personal change: the wicked can repent and live; the righteous can fall and die. Verse 23 is the theological foundation: God's heart is for life, not death. Keil & Delitzsch explain that this verse answers the complaint that God's way is 'not equal' (v. 25). The exiles thought God was unfair; Ezekiel shows God is both just and merciful. God does not delight in judgment, but in restoration. This was revolutionary comfort: the covenant was not over; God was still ready to welcome them back.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 18:23. The Hebrew text (MT) is consistent across manuscripts. Some early versions, such as the Septuagint and Vulgate, show slight differences in phrasing (e.g., 'but that he turn from his way and live'), but they do not alter the core meaning. The verse is textually stable.
Reception History
This verse has been a key text in discussions of divine mercy across church history. In the early church, fathers like Jerome cited it to argue that God does not desire the death of sinners but their conversion. During the Reformation, Calvin used it to emphasize that God’s call to repentance is sincere, while also maintaining that not all are elected to salvation. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions later highlighted this verse as evidence of God’s universal love and desire for all to be saved, a point Adam Clarke presses in his commentary. In modern evangelicalism, Ezekiel 18:23 is often quoted in evangelistic appeals, underlining that God’s heart is open to anyone who turns, no matter their past. The verse has also been sung in hymns of invitation, though the specific hymn titles are not part of this record. Its enduring power lies in offering hope to those who feel beyond redemption, and in challenging believers to see that God’s final word is not judgment but life.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s delight is not death, but life. The rhetorical question in verse 23 is a window into God’s own heart. Unlike human kings who might relish vengeance, God grieves over judgment. His 'strange work' (Gill) is judgment; His delight is mercy.
- God’s desire requires a response. The verse does not say, 'I will save everyone regardless.' It says God wants the wicked to 'return from his way' and live. The invitation demands repentance. Calvin stresses that 'the manner must be noticed': God wills salvation through repentance.
- God’s provision outruns our despair. The exiles felt trapped by their history. Ezekiel 18:23 lifts that weight. Whatever has come before, personal failure, national downfall, God stands ready to welcome the one who turns back to Him.
Five-point outline
- The question: 'Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?', challenges our assumptions about God’s character.
- The answer: God prefers repentance. The verse is structured as a comparison: God takes no pleasure in death, but rather in the sinner’s return to life.
- The context: This is part of Ezekiel’s argument for individual accountability. No one is doomed by another’s sin.
- The condition: 'That he should return from his way.' The offer of life comes with the call to turn. As the Cambridge Bible notes, God's desire is 'that he should return.'
- The conclusion: We are invited into hope. If God’s heart is toward life, there is always a path back.
Illustration hooks
- A parent and a runaway child. When a child leaves in anger, the parent does not delight in their suffering. The parent longs for the child to come home. The door is open, but the child must turn around.
- A judge passing sentence. Even in a courtroom, a just judge does not take pleasure in condemning. The judge’s role is to uphold the law, but the emotion is sorrow, not glee. God’s justice is never heartless.
- The prodigal son’s father. While not in the text, the father’s running to embrace his son captures the passionate desire of God for the wicked to return. The father did not wait for the son to earn his way; he celebrated his return.
Questions your congregation is asking
- 'If God does not want anyone to die, why does He allow eternal judgment?'
- 'Does this verse mean that everyone will eventually be saved, regardless of whether they repent?'
- 'I’ve made so many mistakes, does God really want me back?'
Leading a Discussion
This short verse is one of the most direct statements in the Old Testament about God’s willingness to forgive. It was spoken to a people who felt abandoned and unfairly punished. Read the verse aloud, then consider together what it reveals about God and about ourselves.
Discussion questions
- What does this verse tell us about God’s character? How does it differ from what the exiles believed about Him (as seen in Lamentations 3:42-44)?
- Why do you think Ezekiel frames this as a rhetorical question? What effect does that have on the reader or listener?
- The verse says God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. How does this square with passages that speak of God’s wrath and judgment (e.g., Exodus 34:6-7)?
- How does the immediate context (Ezekiel 18:21-22 and 24) clarify what 'return from his way' means? Does this verse promise salvation to everyone, or only to those who repent?
- In what ways does this verse address the despair of the exiles? How might it address similar feelings of hopelessness in our own lives or in the world?
- The chapter emphasizes individual responsibility. How does this verse encourage you to take ownership of your own choices, especially the choice to turn back to God?
- The final verse of the chapter (Ezekiel 18:32) echoes this one: 'Turn yourselves, and live!' What concrete steps can your group take this week to respond to that invitation?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 34:6 | Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, |
| Exodus 34:7 | keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.” |
| Job 33:27 | He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. |
| Job 33:28 | He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life will see the light.’ |
| Psalms 147:11 | Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness. |
| Jeremiah 31:20 | Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I still earnestly remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh. |
| Lamentations 3:33 | For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. |
| Ezekiel 18:32 | For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live! |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that because God is love itself, he cannot take any pleasure in a sinner’s death. If God cannot be pleased with such a death, he could not have decreed it in advance—a decree of damnation would contradict his own merciful nature.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that God's desire for all to be saved does not erase the difference between good and evil. He insists that repentance must come before pardon; God wounds to heal and calls sinners to turn from their ways, not to salvation without moral transformation.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools notes that the people's despair had two faces: they felt ruined by their own sins and also believed God had shut them out. When the nation fell and the covenant seemed broken, they could no longer rely on visible signs of belonging. They had to trust instead in God's unchanging nature and mercy that never ends.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible note draws attention to God's own rhetorical question, which reveals His heart. God asks whether He truly desires the wicked to die — the implied answer is no. Instead, He wants the wicked to turn from their ways and live.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill draws a careful distinction: God does take some pleasure in the wicked's death, but only as it upholds His truth and justice. Far more pleasing to Him, however, is the sinner's repentance and life. Mercy, not judgment, is what God truly delights in.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that when people perish, the cause is their own refusal to come to Christ for salvation, not any unwillingness on God's part. Such a person tramples not only justice but mercy itself, leaving no further ground for hope when even mercy stands against them.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argues that Ezekiel 18 addresses a crucial gap in the earlier discussion: what happens when a person's life course changes entirely. Their key point is that God judges each person based on their present state, not their past record. The repenting wicked person lives; the apostate righteous person dies. God's ways are not unfair; the complaint recoils on those who make it.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues the sour grapes proverb reveals a heathenish fatalism: the people blame a blind, natural necessity instead of their own sin, making repentance seem pointless. God's oath answer shatters that excuse by asserting His sole ownership of every soul, so no one dies simply for being another man's son.