Ezekiel 18

1 'And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

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

2 'What — to you, ye — using this simile Concerning the ground of Israel, saying: Fathers do eat unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted?

Son of man, what mean you by this parable amongst the children of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten unripe grapes, and the children's teeth have been set on edge?

3 I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Ye have no more the use of this simile in Israel.

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

4 Lo, 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 doth 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 And a man, when he is righteous, And hath done judgment and righteousness,

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

6 On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, And the wife of his neighbour defiled not, And to a separated woman cometh not near,

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 neighbour's wife, and shall not draw near to her that is removed,

7 A man — he doth not oppress, His pledge to the debtor he doth return, Plunder he doth not take away, His bread to the hungry he doth give, And the naked doth cover 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 In usury he doth not give, and increase taketh not, From perversity he turneth back his hand, True judgment he doth 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 judgement between a man and his neighbour,

9 In My statutes he doth walk, And My judgments he hath kept — to deal truly, Righteous [is] he, he surely liveth, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

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

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

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

11 And he all those hath not done, For even on the mountains he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour he hath defiled,

who has not walked in the way of his righteous father, but has even eaten upon the mountains, and has defiled his neighbour's wife,

12 The afflicted and needy he hath oppressed, Plunder he hath taken violently away, A pledge he doth not return, And unto the idols he hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination he hath done!

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 In usury he hath given, and increase taken, And he liveth: he doth not live, All these abominations he hath done, He doth surely die, 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 — lo, he hath begotten a son, And he seeth all the sins of his father, That he hath done, and he feareth, And doth 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 On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour he 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 neighbour's wife,

16 A man — he hath not oppressed, A pledge he hath not bound, And plunder he hath not taken away, His bread to the hungry he hath given, And the naked he covered 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 From the afflicted he hath turned back his hand, Usury and increase he hath not taken, My judgments he hath done, In My statutes he hath walked, He doth not die for the iniquity of his father, He doth 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 used oppression, Did violently Plunder a brother, And that which [is] not good did in the midst of his people, And lo, 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 ye have said, Wherefore hath not the son, Borne of the iniquity of the father? And — the son judgment and righteousness hath done, All My statutes he hath kept, And he doeth them, he surely liveth.

But you will say, Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father? Because the son has wrought judgement and mercy, has kept all my statues, and done them, he shall surely live.

20 The soul that doth sin — it doth die. A son doth not bear of the iniquity of the father, And a father doth 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 turneth back From all his sins that he hath done, And he hath kept all My statutes, And hath done judgment and righteousness, He doth surely live, he doth 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 hath done Are not remembered to him, In his righteousness that he hath done he liveth.

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

23 Do I at all desire the death of the wicked? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Is it not in his turning back from his way — And he hath lived?

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 And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked hath done, he doth — thus he liveth, All his righteousnesses that he hath done are not remembered, For his trespass that he hath trespassed, And for his sin that he hath sinned, For them he doth 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 And ye have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord. Hear, I pray you, O house of Israel, My way — is it not pondered? Are not your ways unpondered?

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 In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, And he is dying by them, for his perversity That he hath done he dieth.

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 hath done, And he doth judgment and righteousness, He his soul doth keep alive.

And when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and shall do judgement and justice, he has kept his soul,

28 And he seeth and turneth back, From all his transgressions that he hath done, He doth surely live, he doth 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 have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord, 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, each according to his ways I judge you, O house of Israel? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Turn ye back, yea, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not to you for a stumbling-block,

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 from off you all your transgressions, By which ye have transgressed, And make to you a new heart, and a new spirit, And why do 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 have no pleasure in the death of the dying, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And turn ye back and live!

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