Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just’: See verse 17. This sentence repeats the Israelites’ accusation that God is unjust. It may be rendered “And yet you say that what I do isn’t right.”

O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways: See 18.30. This sentence contains God’s final word on the matter of personal responsibility. For house of Israel, that is, “people of Israel” (New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation), see Ezek 33.7. I will judge each of you according to his ways means God will punish each person on the basis of what they have personally done. A possible model for this clause is “I will punish each one of you who does evil, and I will save/let live each one of you who does right. What will happen to you depends only on what you do.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .