Ezekiel 18:4 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

There can be no colour of partial judgment in the proceedings of God, who is equally God to all; who hath as great interest in the son as in the father, and as kindly would deal with the son as with the father: and how can it be thought likely I should punish the son for the father's offence, or the father for the son's offence? All souls; all persons, which are frequently called souls, Leviticus 7:18,20,21 Jos 20:3; and so it is Ezekiel 18:20, and Jeremiah 31:30. The soul; the person, whether father or son, shall die, shall bear his own punishment: this text gives no colour for the opinion of the mortality of man's soul. That sinneth, i.e. obstinately, and yet will pretend his own innocency; whoso sinneth shall suffer for his own sin. You querulous Jews suffer then for your own sins and had you been, as you say you are, innocent, the sins of your fathers should not have hurt you; and for the future know I will keep to that rule of equity; no innocent person shall be prejudiced by the guilt of guilty ones. And if one that is, for aught we can discern, absolutely innocent, yet suffers for another man's sin, it is most certain such a sufferer is not absolutely innocent, but some way or other is guilty of the sin for which he suffers.