Jezekiel 18

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

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

2 Son of man, what mean you 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?

“Why is it that you circulate among yourselves this parable, as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’

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

As I live, says the Lord God, this parable shall no longer be a proverb for you 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, all souls are mine. Just as the soul of the father is mine, so also is the soul of the son. The soul that sins, the same shall die.

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

And if a man is just, and he accomplishes judgment and justice,

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 near to her that is removed,

and if he does not eat upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and if he has not violated the wife of his neighbor, nor approached a menstruating woman,

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;

and if he has not grieved any man, but has restored the collateral to the debtor, if he has seized nothing by violence, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,

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,

if he has not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase, if he has averted his hand from iniquity, and has executed true judgment between man and man,

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

if he has walked in my precepts and kept my judgments, so that he acts in accord with truth, then he is just; he shall certainly live, says the Lord God.

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

But if he raises a son who is a robber, who sheds blood, and who 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,

(even though he himself does not do any of these things, ) and who eats upon the mountains, and who defiles the wife of his neighbor,

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,

who grieves the needy and the poor, who seizes with violence, who does not restore the collateral, and who lifts up his eyes to idols, committing abomination,

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.

who lends upon usury, and who takes an increase, then shall he live? He shall not live. Since he has done all these detestable things, he shall certainly die. His blood shall be upon him.

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,

But if he raises a son, who, seeing all his father’s sins that he has done, is afraid and so does not act in a way similar to him,

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,

who does not eat upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and who does not violate the wife of his neighbor,

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,

and who has not grieved any man, nor withheld the collateral, nor seized by violence, but instead has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,

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.

who has averted his hand from injuring the poor, who has not taken usury and an overabundance, who has acted according to my judgments and walked in my precepts, then this one shall not die for the iniquity of his father; instead, he shall certainly 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, because he oppressed and did violence to his brother, and worked evil in the midst of his people, behold, he has died by his own iniquity.

19 But you 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.

And you say, ‘Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father?’ Clearly, since the son has worked judgment and justice, has observed all my precepts, and has done them, he shall certainly 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 that sins, the same shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The justice of the just man shall be upon himself, but the impiety of the impious man shall be upon himself.

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 impious man does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and if he keeps all my precepts, and accomplishes judgment and justice, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.

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

I will not remember all his iniquities, which he has worked; by his justice, which he has worked, he shall live.

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

How could it be my will that an impious man should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted 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 just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity in accord with all the abominations that the impious man so often does, why should he live? All his justices, which he has accomplished, shall not be remembered. By the transgression, in which he has transgressed, and by his sin, in which he has sinned, by these he shall die.

25 Yet you 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?

And you have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Therefore, listen, O house of Israel. How could it be that my way is not fair? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?

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.

For when the just man turns himself away from his justice, and commits iniquity, he shall die by this; by the injustice that he has worked, he shall die.

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,

And when the impious man turns himself away from his impiety, which he has done, and accomplishes judgment and justice, he shall cause his own soul to live.

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

For by considering and turning himself away from all his iniquities, which he has worked, he shall certainly live, and he shall 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?

And yet the sons of Israel say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ How could it be that my ways are not fair, O house of Israel? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?

30 I will judge you, O house of Israel, says 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 each one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities, and then iniquity will not be your ruin.

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

Cast all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, away from you, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And then why should you die, O house of Israel?

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

For I do not desire the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. So return and live.”