Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 3:18-21

"When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul." — Ezekiel 3:18-21 (ASV)

This passage anticipates the great moral principle of divine government (Ezekiel 18:0) that each person is individually responsible for their own actions and will be judged according to these and these alone.

Regarding Ezekiel 3:20, I lay a stumblingblock before him – I bring him to trial by placing difficulties and temptations in his way (Ezekiel 44:12, margin; Ezekiel 14:3–4). It is true that God tempts no one for their destruction, but in the course of His providence He permits people to be tried so that their faith may be approved, and in this trial some who seem to be righteous fall.

Because thou ... his blood ... – So far as the prophet was concerned, the neglect of his duty is reckoned as the cause of the seemingly righteous person’s fall.

His righteousness ... – Or, righteousnesses, that is, acts of righteousness. The righteous person here is one who had previously done the acts of righteousness prescribed by the Law, but when trial came was shown to lack the principle of righteousness.

In connection with Ezekiel 3:21, the repetition of the word righteous should be noted. There seems to be an intimation that sin is alien to the character of a righteous person. (Compare 1 John 3:7–9).