Ezekiel 18

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying:

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

2 What occasion have ye, to be using this proverb, concerning the soil of Israel, saying, —Fathers eat sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are blunted?

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?

3 As I live, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh, Surely ye shall have occasion no longer to use this proverb, in Israel.

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

4 Lo! as for all persons, mine they are, As the person of the father, so also the person of the son, mine they are, —The person that sinneth, the same shall die.

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 But when, any man, shall be righteous, and do justice and righteousness:

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

6 Upon the mountains, hath not eaten, And his eyes, hath not lifted up unto the manufactured gods of the house of Israel, And the wife of his neighbour, hath not defiled, And unto a woman during her removal, hath not approached;

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,

7 And no man, hath treated with violence, But his debt-pledge, hath restored. Plunder, hath not seized, — His bread—to the famished, hath given, And the naked, hath covered with clothing;

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 Upon interest, hath not put out his money. And increase, hath not accepted, From dishonesty, hath turned back his hand, — Justice in truth, hath done, 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 In my statutes, hath walked. And my regulations, hath observed to do them in truth, Righteous, he is, He shall surely live, Declareth My Lord. Yahweh.

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

10 But he hath begotten a son Who is a violent man A shedder of blood, - Who doeth the like of any of these things;

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

11 Whereas he, none of those other things, doeth, For indeed upon the mountains, he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour, hath defiled;

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 The oppressed and the needy, hath treated with violence, Hath ruthlessly plundered, The pledge, hath not restored, But unto the manufactured gods, hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination, hath wrought;

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 Upon interest, hath put out. And increase, hath accepted—, And shall he live? He shall not live All these abominations, he hath done, He shall surely be put to death, His blood, upon himself, shall be.

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 But lo! he hath begotten a son, Who hath considered all the sins of his father which he hath done, - Yea he hath considered and not done 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 Upon the mountains, hath not eaten, And his eyes, hath not lifted up unto the manufactured gods of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour, hath not defiled;

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 And no man, hath he treated with violence, Hath by no means withholden the pledge, And plunder, hath not seized, — His bread—to the famished, hath given And the naked, hath covered with clothing;

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 From dishonesty, hath turned back his hand Neither interest nor increase, hath accepted, my regulations, hath executed, In my statutes, hath walked, — He shall not die for the iniquity of his father He shall surely live.

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 exacted unjust gain Seized plunder of a brother, And that which was not good, had done in the midst of his people Therefore lo! he died, 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 Will ye then say. Why hath not the son borne a part of the iniquity of the father? But the son hath done justice and righteousness, All my statutes, hath observed and done them He shall surely live.

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.

20 The person that sinneth, the same, shall die, — A, son, shall not bear a part of the iniquity of, the father Neither shall, a father, bear a part of the iniquity of the son, the righteousness of the righteous, upon himself, shall be. And, the lawlessness of a lawless man, upon himself, shall be.

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 But as for the lawless man— When he shall turn back from all his sins which he hath committed, And observe all my statutes, And do justice and righteousness He shall surely live. He shall 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 None of his transgressions which he hath committed shall be remembered against him, —In his righteousness which he hath done, he shall live.

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

23 Could I take delight, in the death of the lawless? Demandeth My Lord. Yahweh. Must it not be in his turning from his ways in which case he shall live?

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?

24 But, when a righteous man, shall turn away, from his righteousness and do that which is perverse, Shall do, according to all the abominations which the lawless man hath done, Shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done, shall be remembered, In his treachery wherein he hath been treacherous, And in his sin wherein he hath sinned, In them, shall he die.

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 Can ye then say— The way of My Lord will not be equal? Hear I pray you O house of Israel, Will my way, not be equal? Will not your ways be unequal?

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?

26 When a righteous man shall turn away from his righteousness and do that which is perverse and die because of those things In his own perversity which he hath done, shall he die.

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 But when a lawless man turneth away from his lawlessness which he hath done, And hath done justice and righteousness He, shall save his own 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 When he considered, then he turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, He shall surely live. He shall not die.

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

29 Can the house of Israel then say- The way of My Lord will not be equal? Will my ways, not be equal O house of Israel? Will not your ways be unequal?

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, Every man according to his own ways, will I judge you O house of Israel, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Return ye—and make good your return—from all your transgressions, That they become not unto you a stumbling block of iniquity.

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.

31 Cast off from you all your transgressions which ye have committed against me, And make you a new heart; And a new spirit, - For why should ye die, O house of Israel?

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?

32 For I cannot take delight in the death of him that dieth, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Make good your return then and, live!

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