Ezekiel 18
18
A False Proverb Refuted
1The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2“What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:
‘The #Jer. 31:29; Lam. 5:7fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3“As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.
4“Behold, all souls are #Num. 16:22; 27:16; Is. 42:5; 57:16Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
#Ezek. 18:20; (Rom. 6:23)The soul who sins shall die.
5But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
6#Ezek. 22:9If he has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor #Lev. 18:20; 20:10defiled his neighbor’s wife,
Nor approached #Lev. 18:19; 20:18a woman during her impurity;
7If he has not #Ex. 22:21; Lev. 19:15; 25:14oppressed anyone,
But has restored to the debtor his #Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:12pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence,
But has #Deut. 15:7, 11; Ezek. 18:16; (Matt. 25:35–40); Luke 3:11given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with #Is. 58:7clothing;
8If he has not exacted #Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36; Deut. 23:19; Neh. 5:7; Ps. 15:5usury
Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And #Deut. 1:16; Zech. 8:16executed true judgment between man and man;
9If he has walked in My statutes
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely #Ezek. 20:11; Amos 5:4; (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17)live!”
Says the Lord God.
10“If he begets a son who is a robber
Or #Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12; Num. 35:31a shedder of blood,
Who does any of these things
11And does none of those duties,
But has eaten on the mountains
Or defiled his neighbor’s wife;
12If he has oppressed the poor and needy,
Robbed by violence,
Not restored the pledge,
Lifted his eyes to the idols,
Or #2 Kin. 21:11; Ezek. 8:6, 17committed abomination;
13If he has exacted usury
Or taken increase—
Shall he then live?
He shall not live!
If he has done any of these abominations,
He shall surely die;
#Lev. 20:9, 11–13, 16, 27; Ezek. 3:18; Acts 18:6His blood shall be upon him.
14“If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;
15#Ezek. 18:6Who has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
16Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
17Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor
And not received usury or increase,
But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes—
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!
18“As for his father,
Because he cruelly oppressed,
Robbed his brother by violence,
And did what is not good among his people,
Behold, #Ezek. 3:18he shall die for his iniquity.
Turn and Live
19“Yet you say, ‘Why #Ex. 20:5; Deut. 5:9; 2 Kin. 23:26; 24:3, 4should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20#2 Kin. 14:6; 22:18–20; Ezek. 18:4The soul who sins shall die. #Deut. 24:16; 2 Kin. 14:6; 2 Chr. 25:4; Jer. 31:29, 30The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. #1 Kin. 8:32; Is. 3:10, 11; (Matt. 16:27)The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, #Rom. 2:6–9and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21“But #Ezek. 18:27; 33:12, 19if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22#Is. 43:25; Jer. 50:20; Ezek. 18:24; 33:16; Mic. 7:19None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall #(Ps. 18:20–24)live. 23#Lam. 3:33; (Ezek. 18:32; 33:11; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9)Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
24“But #1 Sam. 15:11; 2 Chr. 24:2, 17–22; Ezek. 3:20; 18:26; 33:18when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? #(2 Pet. 2:20)All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
25“Yet you say, #Ezek. 18:29; 33:17, 20; Mal. 2:17; 3:13–15‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26#Ezek. 18:24When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27Again, #Ezek. 18:21when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28Because he #Ezek. 18:14considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29#Ezek. 18:25Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
30#Ezek. 7:3; 33:20“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. #Matt. 3:2; Rev. 2:5“Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31#Is. 1:16; 55:7; Eph. 4:22, 23Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a #Ps. 51:10; Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32For #Lam. 3:33; Ezek. 33:11; (2 Pet. 3:9)I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and #(Prov. 4:2, 5, 6)live!”
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Ezekiel 18: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Ezekiel 18
18
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 "Why is it that you circulate among yourselves this parable, as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.'
3 As I live, says the Lord God, this parable shall no longer be a proverb for you in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine. Just as the soul of the father is mine, so also is the soul of the son. The soul that sins, the same shall die.
5 And if a man is just, and he accomplishes judgment and justice,
6 and if he does not eat upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and if he has not violated the wife of his neighbor, nor approached a menstruating woman,
7 and if he has not grieved any man, but has restored the collateral to the debtor, if he has seized nothing by violence, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,
8 if he has not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase, if he has averted his hand from iniquity, and has executed true judgment between man and man,
9 if he has walked in my precepts and kept my judgments, so that he acts in accord with truth, then he is just; he shall certainly live, says the Lord God.
10 But if he raises a son who is a robber, who sheds blood, and who does any of these things,
11 (even though he himself does not do any of these things,) and who eats upon the mountains, and who defiles the wife of his neighbor,
12 who grieves the needy and the poor, who seizes with violence, who does not restore the collateral, and who lifts up his eyes to idols, committing abomination,
13 who lends upon usury, and who takes an increase, then shall he live? He shall not live. Since he has done all these detestable things, he shall certainly die. His blood shall be upon him.
14 But if he raises a son, who, seeing all his father's sins that he has done, is afraid and so does not act in a way similar to him,
15 who does not eat upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and who does not violate the wife of his neighbor,
16 and who has not grieved any man, nor withheld the collateral, nor seized by violence, but instead has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,
17 who has averted his hand from injuring the poor, who has not taken usury and an overabundance, who has acted according to my judgments and walked in my precepts, then this one shall not die for the iniquity of his father; instead, he shall certainly live.
18 As for his father, because he oppressed and did violence to his brother, and worked evil in the midst of his people, behold, he has died by his own iniquity.
19 And you say, 'Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father?' Clearly, since the son has worked judgment and justice, has observed all my precepts, and has done them, he shall certainly live.
20 The soul that sins, the same shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The justice of the just man shall be upon himself, but the impiety of the impious man shall be upon himself.
21 But if the impious man does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and if he keeps all my precepts, and accomplishes judgment and justice, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.
22 I will not remember all his iniquities, which he has worked; by his justice, which he has worked, he shall live.
23 How could it be my will that an impious man should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?
24 But if a just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity in accord with all the abominations that the impious man so often does, why should he live? All his justices, which he has accomplished, shall not be remembered. By the transgression, in which he has transgressed, and by his sin, in which he has sinned, by these he shall die.
25 And you have said, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Therefore, listen, O house of Israel. How could it be that my way is not fair? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?
26 For when the just man turns himself away from his justice, and commits iniquity, he shall die by this; by the injustice that he has worked, he shall die.
27 And when the impious man turns himself away from his impiety, which he has done, and accomplishes judgment and justice, he shall cause his own soul to live.
28 For by considering and turning himself away from all his iniquities, which he has worked, he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.
29 And yet the sons of Israel say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' How could it be that my ways are not fair, O house of Israel? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?
30 Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge each one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities, and then iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 Cast all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, away from you, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And then why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I do not desire the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. So return and live."
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