Ezekiel 18:20

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die, &c.] This is repeated from (<261804>Ezekiel 18:4), for the further confirmation of it: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it, “the son shall not be punished for the sins of the father, nor shall the father be punished for the sins of the son.” This is to be understood of adult persons, and of actual sins; for of such only the prophet speaks throughout the whole chapter, or of temporal, and not of eternal punishment: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him; he shall be rewarded with temporal good things in this life, according to his…”

“son shall not bear . . . iniquity of . . . father-- (Deu 24:16; Kg2 14:6). righteousness . . . wickedness--that is, the reward for righteousness . . . the punishment of wickedness. "Righteousness" is not used as if any were absolutely righteous; but, of such as have it imputed to them for Christ's sake, though not under the Old Testament themselves understanding the ground on which they were regarded as righteous, but sincerely seeking after it in the way of God's appointment, so far as they then understood this way.”

“Shall not bear - This is a most unquestionable truth; and tho' perhaps it may seem otherwise in some cases, yet could we see perfectly the connexion between persons and persons; could we see the connexion of sins and sins, and how easily, secretly, and undiscerned men become guilty of the same sins, we should see father and son, though perhaps one of them might not do the evil, both guilty, and neither punished for the sin farther than if it was his own: nor do the scriptures, Exo 20:5; Deu 28:18, doom persons to punishment for sins from which they are wholly free; but if children shall follow their fathers in sin, then if they die for those sins, 'tis because these are their own, not as…”

“soul that: Eze 18:4, Eze 18:13; Deu 24:16; Kg1 14:13; Kg2 14:6, Kg2 22:18-20; Ch2 25:4; Jer 31:29, Jer 31:30 bear: Eze 4:4; Lev 5:1, Lev 5:17, Lev 10:17, Lev 16:22, Lev 19:8; Num 18:1; Isa 53:11; Heb 9:28; Pe1 2:24 righteousness: Eze 18:30, Eze 33:10; Kg1 8:32; Ch2 6:23, Ch2 6:30; Isa 3:10, Isa 3:11; Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6-9; Rev 2:23, Rev 20:12, Rev 22:12-15 Ezekiel 18:21”