Ezekiel 18:21 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

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), and (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.