Ezekiel 18
1 And the word of the Lord came to me,
saying, 2 Son of man, what mean ye 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,
saith the Lord, surely this parable shall no more be spoken in Israel.
4 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 the man who shall be just, who
executes judgment and righteousness,
6 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 nigh
to her that is removed, 7 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 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 neighbour, 9 and
has walked in my commandments and kept mine ordinances, to do them; he is
righteous, he shall surely live, saith the Lord.
10 And if he beget a mischievous son,
shedding blood and committing sins,
11 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 But ye 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 statutes, and done them, he shall surely live.
20 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 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 trespasses which he
has committed shall be remembered: in his righteousness which he has done he
shall live. 23 Shall I at all desire
the death of the sinner, saith the Lord, as I
desire that he should turn from
his evil way, and live?
24 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 Yet ye 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 the righteous turns away from
his righteousness and commits a trespass, and dies in the trespass which he
has committed, he shall even die in it.
27 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 and has
turned away from all his ungodliness which he has committed: he shall surely
live, he shall not die.
29 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 I will judge you,
O house of Israel, saith 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
away from yourselves all your ungodliness wherein ye have sinned against me;
and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: for why should ye die, O
house of Israel? 32 For I desire not
the death of him that dies, saith the Lord.