Ezekiel 18

Modern

Literal

The Soul Who Sins Will Die

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹And the word of YHWH came to me, saying:

²“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?

²“What is it to you that you are quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the teeth of the sons are set on edge’?

³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

³As I live, a declaration of the Lord YHWH, it will not be for you to quote this proverb any longer in Israel,

⁴Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

⁴behold, all souls, they are unto Me—as the soul of the father, also the soul of the son—they are unto Me: The soul that is sinning, it will die.

⁵Now suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right:

⁵And a man, if he is righteous and does justice and righteousness;

⁶He does not eat at the mountain

or look to the idols of the house of Israel.

He does not defile his neighbor’s wife

or approach a woman during her period.

⁶if on the mountains he has not eaten, and his eyes he has not lifted up to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he has not defiled, and toward a woman in her impurity he has not come near;

⁷He does not oppress another,

but restores the pledge to the debtor.

He does not commit robbery,

but gives his bread to the hungry

and covers the naked with clothing.

⁷he does not and a man oppressed, he does return his pledge to the debtor; with violence he has not robbed; he gives his bread to the hungry and he covers the naked with clothing;

⁸He does not engage in usury

or take excess interest,

but he withholds his hand from iniquity

and executes true justice between men.

⁸in usury he does not give, and an increase he does not take; he turns back his hand from iniquity; he does true judgment between man and man.

⁹He follows My statutes

and faithfully keeps My ordinances.

That man is righteous;

surely he will live,

declares the Lord GOD.

⁹In My statutes, he walks and he keeps My ordinances, to act in faithfulness; he is righteous, and he will surely live, a declaration of the Lord YHWH.

¹⁰Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things,

¹⁰And if he begets a violent son, one shedding blood, or who does to a brother one of these things—

¹¹though the father has done none of them:

Indeed, the son eats at the mountain

and defiles his neighbor’s wife.

¹¹and he has not done all of these things—for even on the mountains he has eaten, and the wife of his neighbor he has defiled;

¹²He oppresses the poor and needy;

he commits robbery

and does not restore a pledge.

He lifts his eyes to idols;

he commits abominations.

¹²he has oppressed the poor and needy; by violence he has plundered; the pledge he does not return, and to the idols he has lifted up his eyes; an abomination he has done,

¹³He engages in usury

and takes excess interest.

Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

¹³in usury he has given, and increase he has taken. Will he live? He will not live! He has done all these abominations; he will surely die, and his blood will be upon him!

¹⁴Now suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, and does not do likewise:

¹⁴And behold, If he begets a son, and he sees all the sins of his father that he has done—and he sees and does not do likewise—

¹⁵He does not eat at the mountain

or look to the idols of the house of Israel.

He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.

¹⁵on the mountains he has not eaten; and his eyes he has not lifted to the idols of the house of Israel; the wife of his neighbor he has not defiled,

¹⁶He does not oppress another,

or retain a pledge, or commit robbery.

He gives his bread to the hungry

and covers the naked with clothing.

¹⁶and he has not oppressed a man; he has not withheld a pledge with violence he has not robbed; he has given his bread to the hungry and the naked he has covered with clothing;

¹⁷He withholds his hand from harming the poor^a

and takes no interest or usury.

He keeps My ordinances

and follows My statutes.

Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

¹⁷he has turned back his hand from the poor; usury and increase he has not taken, My ordinances he has done, and in My statutes has walked. He will not die for the iniquity of his father; he will surely live.

¹⁸As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people.

¹⁸His father, because he pressed with oppression, he robbed his brother by violence, and what is not good he has done in the midst of his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity.

¹⁹Yet you may ask, ‘Why shouldn’t the son bear the iniquity of his father?’

Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will surely live.

¹⁹And you may say, ‘Why should not the son bear the guilt of the father?’ And the son has done justice and righteousness, all My statutes he has kept and he has done them; he will surely live.

²⁰The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

²⁰The soul sinning, it will die. The son will not bear the guilt of the father, and the father will not bear the guilt of the son; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.

²¹And a wicked one, if he should turn away from all his sins that he has done, and should keep all My statutes, and do justice and righteousness, he will surely live; he will not die.

²²None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live.

²²All the transgressions that he has done will not be remembered against him; because of the righteousness that he has done, he will live.

²³Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

²³Do I take any delight in the death of the wicked? An utterance of the Lord YHWH. No, in his turning aside from his ways, and he lives?

²⁴But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

²⁴And in the turning away of a righteous man from his righteousness, and he has done iniquity according to all the abominations that the wicked one does, he does, then will he live? All the righteousness that he has done will not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness with which he was unfaithful and the sin that he has sinned; in them he will die.

²⁵Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’

Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

²⁵And you have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

²⁶If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

²⁶In the turning away of a righteous one from his righteousness, when he does iniquity and dies in it, because of the iniquity that he has done, he dies.

²⁷But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

²⁷And in the turning away of the wicked from the wickedness that he has done, when he does justice and righteousness, he will keep alive his soul.

²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.

²⁸And he considers and turns away from all the transgressions that he had done; he will surely live; he will not die.

²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’

Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

²⁹And the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways not just, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.

³⁰Therefore each man, according to his ways, I will judge you, O house of Israel, a declaration of the Lord YHWH. Turn away and turn away from all your transgressions, and iniquity will not be unto you as a stumbling block.

³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

³¹Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have transgressed by them, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, O house of Israel?

³²For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

³²For I do not delight in the death of the one dying, a declaration of the Lord YHWH, turn back and live!