EzekielChapter 18

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¹Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, ²"What do you people mean when you repeat this saying about the land of Israel? You say, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' ³As surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, you will no longer repeat this saying in Israel. ⁴Look, every soul belongs to me. The father and the son both belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. ⁵Suppose a man is righteous. He does what is fair and right. ⁶He does not eat at the mountain shrines. He does not look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not sleep with his neighbor's wife. He does not go near a woman during her monthly period. ⁷He does not treat anyone cruelly. He gives back what a borrower gave him to hold as a promise. He does not rob anyone. He gives his food to the hungry. He gives clothes to those who have none. ⁸He does not lend money for profit or charge too much interest. He keeps his hand from doing wrong. He judges fairly between people. ⁹He follows my rules and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous. He will surely live, says the Lord GOD. ¹⁰But suppose that man has a violent son. The son murders people or does any of these other things, ¹¹even though the father did none of them. The son eats at the mountain shrines. He sleeps with his neighbor's wife. ¹²He treats the poor and needy cruelly. He robs people. He does not give back what a borrower gave him as a promise. He looks to idols. He does disgusting things. ¹³He lends money for profit and charges too much interest. Will this son live? He will not! He has done all these disgusting things, so he will surely die. His blood will be on his own head. ¹⁴But suppose this son has a son. He sees all the sins his father has done. He thinks about them, and he does not do the same things. ¹⁵He does not eat at the mountain shrines. He does not look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not sleep with his neighbor's wife. ¹⁶He does not treat anyone cruelly. He does not keep what a borrower gave him as a promise. He does not rob anyone. He gives his food to the hungry. He gives clothes to those who have none. ¹⁷He keeps his hand from hurting the poor. He does not charge interest or lend for profit. He keeps my laws and follows my rules. Such a man will not die for his father's sin. He will surely live. ¹⁸But his father will die for his own sin. He cheated people out of money. He robbed his brother. He did what was wrong among his people. ¹⁹But you may ask, 'Why shouldn't the son be punished for his father's sin?' The son has done what is fair and right. He has carefully kept all my rules. So he will surely live. ²⁰The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not be punished for his father's sin. A father will not be punished for his son's sin. The righteousness of the righteous man will be on him. The wickedness of the wicked man will be on him. ²¹But suppose a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has done. He keeps all my rules. He does what is fair and right. Then he will surely live. He will not die. ²²None of the wrongs he has done will be held against him. He will live because of the right things he has done. ²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Wouldn't I rather have him turn from his ways and live? ²⁴But suppose a righteous man turns away from doing right and does what is wrong. He does the same disgusting things the wicked man does. Will he live? None of the right things he did will be remembered. He will die because of how unfaithful he has been and because of the sins he has done. ²⁵But you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Listen now, house of Israel. Is my way unfair? Isn't it your ways that are unfair? ²⁶If a righteous man turns away from doing right and does what is wrong, he will die for it. He will die because of the wrong he has done. ²⁷But if a wicked man turns away from the wicked things he has done, and he does what is fair and right, he will save his life. ²⁸He thought about all the wrongs he had done, and he turned away from them. So he will surely live. He will not die. ²⁹But the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Are my ways unfair, house of Israel? Isn't it your ways that are unfair? ³⁰So, house of Israel, I will judge each of you by your own ways, says the Lord GOD. Turn back to God! Turn away from all your wrongs, so that your sin will not bring you down. ³¹Throw away all the wrongs you have done. Make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? ³²For I take no joy in anyone's death, says the Lord GOD. So turn back to God and live!