Ezekiel 18

1 And there is a word of YHWH 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?

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

5 And a man, when he is righteous, And has done 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,

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,

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.

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.

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

11 And he has not done all those, For he has even eaten on the mountains, And he 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!

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.

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,

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,

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

28 And he sees and turns back, From all his transgressions that he has done, He surely lives, he does 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?

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,

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?

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