Ezekiel 18:1–30

¹Then the word of the LORD 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’?

³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. ⁴Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

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

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.

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.

⁸He does not engage in usury

or take excess interest,

but he withholds his hand from iniquity

and executes true justice between men.

⁹He follows My statutes

and faithfully keeps My ordinances.

That man is righteous;

surely he will live,

declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁰Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things, ¹¹though the father has done none of them:

Indeed, the son eats at the mountain

and defiles his neighbor’s wife.

¹²He oppresses the poor and needy;

he commits robbery

and does not restore a pledge.

He lifts his eyes to idols;

he commits abominations.

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.

¹⁴Now suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

²⁷But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. ²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, 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?

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.