Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 18:4

"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." — Ezekiel 18:4 (ASV)

All souls are mine. — This is the basis of the subsequent teaching. Since all alike belong to God and are absolutely in His power, He has no reason to punish one for fear that another might escape; and again, since all are His, He loves and would save them all, and inflicts punishment only when it is deserved and His grace is rejected.

Four cases are now discussed separately:

1. that of the righteous man who honestly seeks to follow the ways of the Lord (Ezekiel 18:5–9);
2. that of his wicked son (Ezekiel 18:10–13);
3. that of the righteous son of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:14–20);
4. that of a change of character in the individual, whether from sin to righteousness or the reverse (Ezekiel 18:21–29).

The word “soul” throughout the chapter does not mean exclusively the immortal part of our nature, but, as so often in Scripture, is equivalent to man, or person, or self; and the word “die” is used, as often elsewhere, in the broad sense of suffer punishment.