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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Ezekiel 18
18
Judged According to the Way You Live
1-2 God’s Message to me: “What do you people mean by going around the country repeating the saying,
The parents ate green apples,
The children got the stomachache?
3-4“As sure as I’m the living God, you’re not going to repeat this saying in Israel any longer. Every soul—man, woman, child—belongs to me, parent and child alike. You die for your own sin, not another’s.
5-9“Imagine a person who lives well, treating others fairly, keeping good relationships—
doesn’t eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn’t worship the idols so popular in Israel,
doesn’t seduce a neighbor’s spouse,
doesn’t indulge in casual sex,
doesn’t bully anyone,
doesn’t pile up bad debts,
doesn’t steal,
doesn’t refuse food to the hungry,
doesn’t refuse clothing to the ill-clad,
doesn’t exploit the poor,
doesn’t live by impulse and greed,
doesn’t treat one person better than another,
But lives by my statutes and faithfully
honors and obeys my laws.
This person who lives upright and well
shall live a full and true life.
Decree of God, the Master.
10-13“But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them—
eats at the pagan shrines,
seduces his neighbor’s spouse,
bullies the weak,
steals,
piles up bad debts,
admires idols,
commits outrageous obscenities,
exploits the poor
“—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he’s done all these vile things, he’ll die. And his death will be his own fault.
14-17a “Now look: Suppose that this child has a child who sees all the sins done by his parent. The child sees them, but doesn’t follow in the parent’s footsteps—
doesn’t eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn’t worship the popular idols of Israel,
doesn’t seduce his neighbor’s spouse,
doesn’t bully anyone,
doesn’t refuse to loan money,
doesn’t steal,
doesn’t refuse food to the hungry,
doesn’t refuse to give clothes to the ill-clad,
doesn’t live by impulse and greed,
doesn’t exploit the poor.
He does what I say;
he performs my laws and lives by my statutes.
17b-18 “This person will not die for the sins of the parent; he will live truly and well. But the parent will die for what the parent did, for the sins of—
oppressing the weak,
robbing brothers and sisters,
doing what is dead wrong in the community.
19-20“Do you need to ask, ‘So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?’
“Isn’t it plain? It’s because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you’re guilty as charged.
21-23“But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he’ll live, really live. He won’t die. I won’t keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn’t it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?
24“The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don’t keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he’ll die.
25-28“Do I hear you saying, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair!’?
“Listen, Israel. I’m not fair? You’re the ones who aren’t fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he’ll die for it. He’ll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he’s committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won’t die.
29“And yet Israel keeps on whining, ‘That’s not fair! God’s not fair.’
“I’m not fair, Israel? You’re the ones who aren’t fair.
30-32“The upshot is this, Israel: I’ll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won’t drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone’s death. Decree of God, the Master.
“Make a clean break! Live!”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.