Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 18:21

"But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die." — Ezekiel 18:21 (ASV)

If the wicked will turn.—The prophet now takes up the fourth and last case—that of a change in the individual character. This has necessarily two sub-divisions:

1. That of the wicked repenting and doing righteousness (Ezekiel 18:21–23, and Ezekiel 18:27-28).
2. That of the righteous falling into wickedness (Ezekiel 18:24–26), which latter case is more briefly treated because the object is to encourage hope in repentance.

This case, in both its parts, is first treated in Ezekiel 18:21-24, and then, for the sake of emphasis, repeated in reverse order in Ezekiel 18:26-28.