Ezekiel 18

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

2 “What [is it] to you [that] you are using this allegory Concerning the ground of Israel, saying, Fathers eat unripe fruit, And the sons’ teeth are blunted?

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?

3 [As] I live,” a declaration of Lord YHWH, “You no longer have the use of this allegory in Israel.

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

4 Behold, 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 dies.

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.

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

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

6 He has not eaten on the mountains, And has not lifted up his eyes To idols of the house of Israel, And did not defile his neighbor’s wife, And did not come near to a separated woman,

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,

7 He does not oppress a man, He returns his pledge to the debtor, He does not take away plunder, He gives his bread to the hungry, And covers the naked with a garment,

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;

8 He does not give in usury, and does not take increase, He turns back his hand from perversity, He does true judgment between man and man.

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,

9 He walks in My statutes, And he has kept My judgments—to deal truly, He [is] righteous—he surely lives,” A declaration of Lord YHWH.

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

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

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

11 And he has not done all those, For he has even eaten on the mountains, And he has defiled his neighbor’s wife,

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,

12 He has oppressed the afflicted and needy, He has taken away plunder violently, He does not return a pledge, And he has lifted up his eyes to the idols, He has done abomination!

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,

13 He has given in usury, and taken increase, And he lives? He does not live, He has done all these abominations, He surely dies, his blood is on him.

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.

14 And—behold, he has begotten a son, And he sees all the sins of his father, That he has done, and he fears, And does not do like them,

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,

15 He has not eaten on the mountains, And he has not lifted up his eyes To idols of the house of Israel, He has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,

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,

16 He has not oppressed a man, He has not bound a pledge, And he has not taken away plunder, He has given his bread to the hungry, And he covered the naked with a garment,

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,

17 He has turned back his hand from the afflicted, He has not taken usury and increase, He has done My judgments, He has walked in My statutes, He does not die for the iniquity of his father, He surely lives.

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.

18 His father—because he used oppression, Violently plundered a brother, And did that which [is] not good in the midst of his people, And behold, he is dying in his iniquity.

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

19 And you have said, Why has the son not borne of the iniquity of the father? And the son has done judgment and righteousness, He has kept all My statutes, And he does them, he surely lives.

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.

20 The soul that sins—it dies. A son does not bear of the iniquity of the father, And a father does 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.

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.

21 And the wicked—when he turns back From all his sins that he has done, And he has kept all My statutes, And has done judgment and righteousness, He surely lives, he does not die.

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.

22 All his transgressions that he has done Are not remembered to him, In his righteousness that he has done he lives.

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

23 Do I take pleasure [or] delight in the death of the wicked?” A declaration of Lord YHWH, “Is it not in his turning back from his way—And he has lived?

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?

24 And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he has done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked has done, Does he then live? All his righteous deeds that he has done are not remembered, For his trespass that he has trespassed, And for his sin that he has sinned, For them he dies.

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.

25 And you have said, The way of the Lord is not pondered. Now hear, O house of Israel, My way—is it not pondered? Are not your ways unpondered?

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?

26 In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he has done perversity, And he is dying by them, He dies for his perversity that he has done.

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.

27 And in the turning back of the wicked From his wickedness that he has done, And he does judgment and righteousness, He keeps his soul alive.

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,

28 And he sees and turns back, From all his transgressions that he has done, He surely lives, he does not die,

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

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

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?

30 Therefore, I judge each according to his ways, O house of Israel,” A declaration of Lord YHWH, “Turn back, indeed, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not for a stumbling-block to you,

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.

31 Cast away all your transgressions from over you, By which you have transgressed, And make a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves, And why do you die, O house of Israel?

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?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying,” A declaration of Lord YHWH, “Therefore turn back and live!”

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