Ezekiel 18:20

Context

Ezekiel 18 is God's rebuttal of a proverb circulating among the Babylonian exiles: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (18:2). The exiles attributed their suffering to their ancestors' sins and either resigned themselves to it or complained against God (in verse 25 they say, "The way of the Lord is not equal"). God presents in turn the examples of a righteous father, a wicked son, and then a righteous grandson (vv. 5–18), declaring that each person is judged according to his own deeds. Verse 20 summarizes this principle, and verses 21–32 conclude with a call to repentance, promising that even the wicked who turn from their ways shall live.

Interpretation

• As a principle of individual responsibility: On this reading, God's judgment accords with each person's deeds, and descendants are not condemned for the sins of their ancestors. This parallels the legal principle of Deuteronomy 24:16. Jeremiah 31:29–30 addresses the same proverb.
• As a call to repentance: On this reading, the chapter's purpose is less to explain individual responsibility in the abstract than to urge the hearers to stop blaming their ancestors and to turn now and live (v. 32, "wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye").
• Relationship to Exodus 20:5: The common explanation is that the Ten Commandments' phrase "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" refers either to descendants who hate God and continue in their ancestors' sins or to the reality that the effects of sin extend across generations; it does not mean that descendants bear legal liability for their ancestors' sins.

Debates and Issues

In parts of the Korean church, the generational curse teaching has spread, holding that curses resulting from ancestors' sins or idolatry descend upon their descendants and that prayers to break these curses are necessary. Critics cite this verse together with Galatians 3:13, which states that Christ has redeemed believers from the curse of the law. Several denominations have criticized the generational curse teaching as unbiblical. Even its critics, however, acknowledge the practical reality that sinful habits and wounds are passed down within families, and they treat this as distinct from a curse.

Related Passages

• Ezekiel 18:2–4
• Ezekiel 18:30–32
• Deuteronomy 24:16
• Galatians 3:13