The interpretation timeline

Ezek 18:21

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

Ezek 18:21 · Douay-Rheims
“But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die.”
Patristic before A.D. 750
220
A.D.
Tertullian Patristic
c. A.D. 150–220
“Repentance, then, means life, since it is preferred to death. You must, as a sinner like myself—yes, and a lesser one than I, for I recognize my eminence in evil—lay hold on it and grip it fast, as one who is shipwrecked holds to a plank of salvation. It will buoy you up when you are plunged into a sea of sin and bear you safely to the haven of divine mercy.”
Source
166 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
386
A.D.
Cyril of Jerusalem Patristic
A.D. 313–386
“Sin is a terrible thing, and the most grievous disease of the soul is iniquity, which corrodes the fiber of the soul and makes it liable to eternal fire. It is an evil freely chosen, the product of the will.”
420
A.D.
Jerome Patristic
c. A.D. 347–420
“The sins of the parents do not fall on the children, nor does a wicked parent burden a just child, nor are some punished for the crimes of others. One alone who was wrong and sinful before, if he afterwards becomes penitent and turns to better things, wipes out his former sins and is not judged by what he had done wrong, but he is received into my flock with a renewed virtue.”
Source
420
A.D.
Jerome Patristic
c. A.D. 347–420
“(Vers. 21, 22.) But if the wicked shall do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice: living he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done. In a way only, saith he, the sins of the fathers are not transmitted to the children, neither doth the wicked son any longer burden the righteous father; nor are others punished for the sins of others, so that he, who before was wicked and a sinner, if he afterwards do penance, and turn to better things, and blot out his former sins, be not judged by the old sins: but let him be received into my flock, by the renewal of virtue. At the same time, let us consider what sort of repentant person an impious and sinful person receives. If, he says, he turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all the commandments of the Lord, so that he truly abandons all wrongdoing and follows all virtues; if he does all good things and forsakes all evil; then I will forget all the injustices he has committed.”
Source
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“Behold how God advises and arouses you so that you may be converted from your sins and be saved, though late. Behold how he urges one liable to death to live; how gently, how kindly he calls, not refusing his fatherly devotion even to sinners. He continues to call children those who have lost God their Father by their sins.”
Source
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“There are people who, as soon as they begin to think about the evil things they have done, assume that they can not be pardoned; and on the assumption that they can not be pardoned, they give their souls over to destruction from that moment.… They perish from despair, whether before they come to believe at all or whether they are already Christians and have fallen by evil living into various sins and vicious forms of behavior.”
Source
457
A.D.
Theodoret of Cyrus Patristic
c. A.D. 393–457
“I will not allow those punishments that the parents avoided to be repeated by their children, since I am the Lord of both of them and have the same care for all of them. For all souls are mine, and the soul that sins pays the penalty. Thus God teaches us forms of justice, and the way people can delight in life and be released by prayer and become free.”
Source
542
A.D.
Caesarius of Arles Patristic
c. A.D. 470–542
“Since no one makes a fool of the Lord, he deceives himself if having led a wicked life for a long time he arises to seek life when he is already half-dead. He should listen to the prophet say, "If the sinner turns away from his sins"—if he turns away, he says, not if he only talks about it—"he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced." Surely you have noticed that healing medicine of this kind must be asked with the lips, but it must be brought to completion by deeds. That gift of repentance that is received at the end of one's life should be believed to be profitable if it is accepted with a sublime intention, much crying and groaning, and is further enhanced by more abundant almsgiving. However, there must be as much piety on the part of sinners in healing the wounds as the intention of the mind was quick and active in doing evil.”
Source
542
A.D.
Caesarius of Arles Patristic
c. A.D. 470–542
“A person who is always uncertain of his life is also swift to apply the remedy of his salvation. The same one who gave us assurance by the words, "On whatever day the sinner is converted, all his iniquities will be forgiven," also wanted to make us careful when he said, "Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day."”
Source
542
A.D.
Caesarius of Arles Patristic
c. A.D. 470–542
“The person who believes that even if he does penance for his sins the divine mercy will not forgive him wrongly despairs, while one who defers the remedy of repentance to a much later day is presumptuous. Just as it is said to those who despair, "On whatever day the sinner is converted, all his iniquities will be forgotten," so it is said to the presumptuous, "Delay not to be converted to the Lord."”
Source
580
A.D.
Martin of Braga Patristic
c. A.D. 515–580
“Do not doubt the mercy of God. Only perform in your heart your pact with God not to practice the worship of demons any more, or to worship anything except the God of heaven, or to commit homicide, or to be involved in adultery or fornication or theft or to swear falsely. And when you have promised God this with your whole heart and have not committed these sins again, hope confidently for pardon from God.… True repentance consists of a person not doing again the evils that he did but asking pardon for past sins and watching in the future not to fall into them again.”
Source
583
A.D.
Cassiodorus Patristic
c. A.D. 487–583
“Once the mind is lent brightness at the very beginning of good works and begins to recognize the truth, you are not to imagine that after sinning a delay ensues by reason of which it is enabled to be heard.”
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.