Ezekiel 18

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

'And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?

'What — to you, ye — using this simile Concerning the ground of Israel, saying: Fathers do eat unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted?

3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Ye have no more the use of this simile in Israel.

4 Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

Lo, all the souls are Mine, As the soul of the father, So also the soul of the son — they are Mine, The soul that is sinning — it doth die.

5 Now suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right:

And a man, when he is righteous, And hath done judgment and righteousness,

6 He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her period.

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, And the wife of his neighbour defiled not, And to a separated woman cometh not near,

7 He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

A man — he doth not oppress, His pledge to the debtor he doth return, Plunder he doth not take away, His bread to the hungry he doth give, And the naked doth cover with a garment,

8 He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

In usury he doth not give, and increase taketh not, From perversity he turneth back his hand, True judgment he doth between man and man.

9 He follows My statutes and faithfully keeps My ordinances. That man is righteous; surely he will live,

In My statutes he doth walk, And My judgments he hath kept — to deal truly, Righteous [is] he, he surely liveth, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

10 Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things,

And — he hath begotten a son, A burglar — a shedder of blood, And he hath made a brother of one of these,

11 though the father has done none of them: Indeed, the son eats at the mountain and defiles his neighbor’s wife.

And he all those hath not done, For even on the mountains he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour he hath defiled,

12 He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations.

The afflicted and needy he hath oppressed, Plunder he hath taken violently away, A pledge he doth not return, And unto the idols he hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination he hath done!

13 He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

In usury he hath given, and increase taken, And he liveth: he doth not live, All these abominations he hath done, He doth surely die, his blood is on him.

14 Now suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, and does not do likewise:

And — lo, he hath begotten a son, And he seeth all the sins of his father, That he hath done, and he feareth, And doth not do like them,

15 He does not eat at the mountain or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour he hath not defiled,

16 He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

A man — he hath not oppressed, A pledge he hath not bound, And plunder he hath not taken away, His bread to the hungry he hath given, And the naked he covered with a garment,

17 He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

From the afflicted he hath turned back his hand, Usury and increase he hath not taken, My judgments he hath done, In My statutes he hath walked, He doth not die for the iniquity of his father, He doth surely live.

18 As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people.

His father — because he used oppression, Did violently Plunder a brother, And that which [is] not good did in the midst of his people, And lo, he is dying in his iniquity.

19 Yet you may ask, ‘Why shouldn’t the son bear the iniquity of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will surely live.

And ye have said, Wherefore hath not the son, Borne of the iniquity of the father? And — the son judgment and righteousness hath done, All My statutes he hath kept, And he doeth them, he surely liveth.

20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

The soul that doth sin — it doth die. A son doth not bear of the iniquity of the father, And a father doth not bear of the iniquity of the son, The righteousness of the righteous is on him, And the wickedness of the wicked is on him.

21 But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.

And the wicked — when he turneth back From all his sins that he hath done, And he hath kept all My statutes, And hath done judgment and righteousness, He doth surely live, he doth not die.

22 None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live.

All his transgressions that he hath done Are not remembered to him, In his righteousness that he hath done he liveth.

23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

Do I at all desire the death of the wicked? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Is it not in his turning back from his way — And he hath lived?

24 But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked hath done, he doth — thus he liveth, All his righteousnesses that he hath done are not remembered, For his trespass that he hath trespassed, And for his sin that he hath sinned, For them he doth die.

25 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

And ye have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord. Hear, I pray you, O house of Israel, My way — is it not pondered? Are not your ways unpondered?

26 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, And he is dying by them, for his perversity That he hath done he dieth.

27 But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

And in the turning back of the wicked From his wickedness that he hath done, And he doth judgment and righteousness, He his soul doth keep alive.

28 Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.

And he seeth and turneth back, From all his transgressions that he hath done, He doth surely live, he doth not die,

29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

And the house of Israel have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord, My ways — are they not pondered? O house of Israel — are not your ways unpondered?

30 Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.

Therefore, each according to his ways I judge you, O house of Israel? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Turn ye back, yea, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not to you for a stumbling-block,

31 Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

Cast from off you all your transgressions, By which ye have transgressed, And make to you a new heart, and a new spirit, And why do ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And turn ye back and live!