Jezekiel 18

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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

2 Son of man, what mean ye by this parable among the children of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten unripe grapes, and the children's teeth have been set on edge?

“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’?

3 [As] I live, saith the Lord, surely this parable shall no more be spoken in Israel.

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

4 For all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son, they are mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.

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

5 But the man who shall be just, who executes judgment and righteousness,

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

6 who shall not eat upon the mountains, and shall not at all lift up his eyes to the devices of the house of Israel, and shall not defile his neighbor's wife, and shall not draw nigh to her that is removed,

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.

7 and shall not oppress any man, [but] shall return the pledge of the debtor, and shall be guilty of no plunder, shall give his bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked;

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.

8 and shall not lend his money upon usury, and shall not receive usurious increase, and shall turn back his hand from injustice, shall execute righteous judgment between a man and his neighbor,

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

9 and has walked in my commandments and kept mine ordinances, to do them; he is righteous, he shall surely live, saith the Lord.

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

10 And if he beget a mischievous son, shedding blood and committing sins,

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

11 who has not walked in the way of his righteous father, but has even eaten upon the mountains, and has defiled his neighbor's wife,

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

12 and has oppressed the poor and needy, and has committed robbery, and not restored a pledge, and has set his eyes upon idols, has wrought iniquities,

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

13 has lent upon usury, and taken usurious increase; he shall by no means live: he has wrought all these iniquities; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

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.

14 And if he beget a son, and [the son] see all his father's sins which he has wrought, and fear, and not do according to them,

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

15 and [if he] has not eaten on the mountains, and has not set his eyes on the devices of the house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor's wife,

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.

16 and has not oppressed a man, and has not retained the pledge, nor committed robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has clothed the naked,

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.

17 and has turned back his hand from unrighteousness, has not received interest or usurious increase, has wrought righteousness, and walked in mine ordinances; he shall not die for the iniquities of his father, he shall surely live.

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.

18 But if his father grievously afflict, or plunder, he has wrought enmity in the midst of my people, and shall die in his iniquity.

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.

19 But ye will say, Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father? Because the son has wrought judgment and mercy, has kept all my statues, and done them, he shall surely live.

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.

20 But the soul that sins shall die: and the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the iniquity of the transgressor shall be upon him.

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.

21 And if the transgressor turn away from all his iniquities which he has committed, and keep all my commandments, and do justice and mercy, he shall surely live, and shall by no means die.

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.

22 None of his trespasses which he has committed shall be remembers: in his righteousness which he has done he shall live.

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

23 Shall I at all desire death of the sinner, saith the Lord, as I [desire] that he should turn from [his] evil way, and live?

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?

24 But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, according to all the transgressions which the transgressor has wrought, none of his righteousness which he has wrought shall be at all remembered: in his trespass wherein he has trespassed, and in his sins wherein he has sinned, in them shall he die.

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.

25 Yet ye have said, The way of the Lord is not straight. Hear now, all the house of Israel; will not my way be straight? Is your way straight?

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?

26 When the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits a trespass, and dies in the trespass he has committed, he shall [even] die in it.

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.

27 And when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and shall do judgment and justice, he has kept his soul,

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

28 and has turned away from all his ungodliness which he has committed: he shall surely live, he shall not die.

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

29 Yet the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not right. Is not my way right, O house of Israel? is not your way wrong?

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?

30 I will judge you, O house of Israel, saith the Lord, each one according to his way: be converted, and turn from all your ungodliness, and it shall not become to you the punishment of iniquity.

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.

31 Cast away from yourselves all your ungodliness wherein ye have sinned against me; and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: for why should ye die, O house of Israel?

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?

32 For I desire not the death of him that dies, saith the Lord.

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