Ezekiel 18
1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]
2 and he seide, What is it, that ye turnen a parable among you in to this prouerbe, in the lond of Israel, and seien, Fadris eeten a bittir grape, and the teeth of sones ben an egge, ether astonyed?
“You people quote [RHQ] this proverb [and say that it is] about Israel: ‘Parents/People eat sour grapes, but it is their children who have a very sour taste in their mouths', [which means that you think that it is not fair for you to be punished for your ancestors’ sins].
3 Y lyue, seith the Lord God, this parable schal no more be in to a prouerbe to you in Israel.
But [I], Yahweh the Lord, declare that [as surely] as I am alive, you Israeli people will no longer quote that proverb.
4 Lo! alle soulis ben myne; as the soule of the fadir, so and the soule of the sone is myn. Thilke soule that doith synne, schal die.
Everyone [who is alive] belongs to me. That includes children and their parents; they all belong to me. And it is those who sin who will [because of their sins].
5 And if a man is iust, and doith doom and riytfulnesse,
[So, ] suppose there is a righteous person [always] does what is fair and right [DOU].
6 etith not in hillis, and reisith not hise iyen to the idols of the hous of Israel; and defoulith not the wijf of his neiybore, and neiyeth not to a womman defoulid with vncleene blood;
He does not [meat sacrificed to idols] on the hilltops, he does not request help from idols. He does not have sex with someone else’s wife or have sex with a woman during her monthly menstrual period.
7 and makith not a man sori, yeldith the wed to the dettour, rauyschith no thing bi violence, yyueth his breed to the hungri, and hilith a nakid man with a cloth;
He does not mistreat/oppress people; if [borrows money from him and gives him his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back], he always gives the cloak back to that [before the sun goes down]. He does not rob people. He gives food to hungry people. He gives clothing to people who need clothes.
8 leeneth not to vsure, and takith not more; turneth awei his hond fro wickidnesse, and makith trewe dom bitwixe man and man;
When he lends money to people, he does not [do it just to] charge big interest. He does not do [SYN] things that are evil. He [always] decides things fairly.
9 and goith in my comaundementis, and kepith my domes, that he do treuthe; this is a iust man, he schal lyue in lijf, seith the Lord God.
He faithfully obeys all [DOU] my laws. That man is truly righteous; he will remain alive. [That is what I, ] Yahweh the Lord, promise.
10 That if he gendrith a sone, a theef, shedinge out blood,
But suppose that man has a son who acts violently, who murders people and does any of these other things, even though his father has not done any of them:
11 and doith oon of thes thingis, and sotheli not doing alle these thingis, but etinge in hillis, and defoulynge the wijf of his neiybore;
He [meat sacrificed to idols] on the hilltops. He has sex with other people’s wives.
12 makynge soreuful a nedy man and pore, rauyschynge raueyns, not yeldinge a wed, reisynge hise iyen to idols, doynge abhomynacioun; yiuynge to vsure, and takynge more;
He mistreats/oppresses poor and needy people. He robs people. If someone gives him his cloak to [that he will pay the money back], he never gives the cloak back to [before the sun goes down]. He seeks help from idols. He does [other] detestable things.
13 whether he schal lyue? he schal not lyue; whanne he hath do alle these abhomynable thingis, he schal die bi deth, his blood schal be in hym.
When he lends money, he [very big] interest. If you think that such a person [be allowed to] remain alive [RHQ], you are certainly wrong. Because he has done those detestable things, he will surely be executed, and it will be his own fault [IDM].
14 That if he gendrith a sone, which seeth alle the synnes of his fadir, whiche he dide, and dredith, and doith noon lijk tho;
But suppose that man has a son who sees all the sins that his father commits, but he does not do those things:
15 etith not on hillis, and reisith not hise iyen to the idols of the hous of Israel; and defoulith not the wijf of his neiybore,
He does not [meat sacrificed to idols] on the hilltops. He does not request help from idols. He does not have sex with other people’s wives.
16 and makith not sori a man, witholdith not a wed, and rauyschith not raueyn, yyueth his breed to the hungri, and hilith the nakid with a cloth;
He does not mistreat/oppress people. If he lends money to someone, he does not require that person to give him his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back. He does not rob anyone. He gives food to those who need it. He gives clothes to those who need clothes.
17 turneth a wei his hond fro the wrong of a pore man, takith not vsure and ouerhabundaunce, `that is, no thing more than he lente, and doith my domes, and goith in my comaundementis; this sone schal not die in the wickidnesse of his fadir, but he schal lyue in lijf.
He does not commit sins, [like his father did], and does not charge big interest [DOU] when he lends money. He faithfully obeys [all] [DOU] my laws. That person will not be executed for his father’s sins; he will surely remain alive.
18 For his fadir made fals caleng, and dide violence to his brother, and wrouyte yuel in the myddis of his puple, lo! he is deed in his wickidnesse.
But his father will be executed for the sins that he committed, because he cheated people and robbed people and did [other] things that are evil.
19 And ye seien, Whi berith not the sone the wickidnesse of the fadir? That is to seie, for the sone wrouyte doom and riytfulnesse, he kepte alle my comaundementis, and dide tho, he schal lyue in lijf.
[If] you ask, ‘Why should the [man’s] son not (suffer/be punished) for the evil things that his father did?’, [I will answer that] the son has done what is fair and right [DOU] and has obeyed all my laws, so he will surely remain alive.
20 Thilke soule that doith synne, schal die; the sone schal not bere the wickidnesse of the fadir, and the fadir schal not bere the wickednesse of the sone; the riytfulnesse of a iust man schal be on hym, and the wickidnesse of a wickid man schal be on hym.
It is those who sin who will [because of their sins]. People will not be punished for the sins of their parents, or for the sins of their children. Good/Righteous people will be rewarded for their being good/righteous, and evil people will be punished for [doing] evil.
21 Forsothe if a wickid man doith penaunce of alle hise synnes whiche he wrouyte, and kepith alle myn heestis, and doith dom and riytfulnesse, he schal lyue bi lijf, and schal not die.
But if a wicked person (turns away from/quits) doing all the evil things that he did previously, and if he starts to obey faithfully all my laws, and does what is fair and right [DOU], he will surely remain alive; he will not be executed.
22 Y schal not haue mynde of alle his wickidnessis whiche he wrouyte; he schal lyue in his riytfulnesse which he wrouyte.
He will not be punished for the sins he committed [previously]. Because of the good/righteous things that he has done [since that time], he [be allowed to] remain alive.
23 Whether the deth of the wickid man is of my wille, seith the Lord God, and not that he be conuertid fro his weies, and lyue?
[I], Yahweh the Lord, declare that I certainly am not [RHQ] happy about wicked people dying. Instead, I am happy when they turn away from their wicked behavior, [because of that, they] remain alive.
24 Forsothe if a iust man turneth awey hym silf fro his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnesse bi alle hise abhomynaciouns, which a wickid man is wont to worche, whether he schal lyue? Alle hise riytfulnessis whiche he dide, schulen not be had in mynde; in his trespassyng bi which he trespasside, and in his synne which he synnede, he schal die in tho.
But if a righteous person stops doing righteous things and [starts to] commit sins and does the same detestable things that wicked people do, he will certainly not [RHQ] [be allowed to] remain alive. I will not think about the righteous things that he did previously. Because he did not [do what pleases me], and because of [all] the sins that he has committed, he will be executed.
25 And ye seiden, The weie of the Lord is not euene. Therfor, the hous of Israel, here ye, whether my weie is not euene, and not more youre weies ben schrewid?
But you say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly!’ You Israeli people, listen to what I say: It is certainly not [RHQ] what I do that is unfair, it is what you continually do that is not fair/right!
26 For whanne a riytful man turneth awei hym silf fro his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnesse, he schal die in it, he schal die in the vnriytwisnesse which he wrouyte.
If a righteous person (turns away from/quits) doing what is righteous and commits sins, he will [for committing those sins].
27 And whanne a wickid man turneth awei him silf fro his wickidnesse which he wrouyte, and doith dom and riytfulnesse, he schal quykene his soule.
But if a wicked person turns away from doing wicked things and does what is just and right [DOU], he will save [from being executed/punished].
28 For he biholdinge and turnynge awei hym silf fro alle hise wickidnessis which he wrouyte, schal lyue in lijf, and schal not die.
Because he has thought about all the evil things that he did and has turned away from doing them, he will [be allowed to] live. He will not be executed [for having done evil things].
29 And the sones of Israel seien, The weie of the Lord is not euene. Whether my weies ben not euene, ye hous of Israel, and not more youre weies ben schrewid?
But [you] Israeli people [MTY] say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly.’ You people of Israel, my behavior is certainly not [RHQ] unfair! It is your behavior that is not right.
30 Therfor, thou hous of Israel, Y schal deme ech man bi hise weies, seith the Lord God. Turne ye togidere, and do ye penaunce for alle youre wickidnessis, and wickidnesse schal not be to you in to falling.
Therefore, you Israeli people [MTY], I, Yahweh the Lord, will judge each of you according to what you have done. Repent! Turn [away] from all your wicked behavior! Then you will not be destroyed [PRS] because of your sins.
31 Caste awei fro you alle youre trespassingis, bi whiche ye trespassiden, and make ye a newe herte and a newe spirit to you, and whi schulen ye die, the hous of Israel?
Get rid of all your wicked behavior, and get a new way of thinking [IDM, DOU]. You Israeli people [MTY], (do you really want to be executed for your sins?/you act as though you want to be executed [for your sins]) [RHQ].
32 For Y nyle the deeth of hym that dieth, seith the Lord God; turne ye ayen, and lyue ye.
[I], Yahweh the Lord, declare that I am not pleased about your dying. So repent, and remain alive!”
