Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yet the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
- BSB Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.
- NKJV “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!
- NASB “Yet your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right.
- NLT “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The people complain that God's way is unfair, but God says it is their way that is crooked. They accuse God of injustice to excuse themselves.
Overview
Israel charges that 'the way of the Lord is not equal,' resenting that destiny turns on present repentance or rebellion. God turns the accusation back: it is their reasoning that is unjust. The exchange exposes the human tendency to fault God's righteousness rather than examine our own hearts, a posture the next verses dismantle.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 18:29Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
- Matt 25:24–26Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
- Ezek 18:25Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
- Luke 19:21–22For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
- Job 40:8Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
- Job 35:2Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s?
- Ezek 33:20Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 33:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.