Ezekiel 18:9-25
New American Standard Bible
10However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother
11(though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and defiles his neighbor’s wife,
12oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and commits abomination,
13lends money at interest and takes interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his blood will be on himself.
14Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has seen them and does not do likewise.
15He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,
16nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,
17he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live.
18As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt.
19Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live.
20The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
21But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.
22All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,' declares the Lord God, 'rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?
24But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.
25Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?
King James Version
10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,
12Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
15That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,
16Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Christian Standard Bible
10"But suppose the man has a violent son, who sheds blood and does any of these things,
11though the father has done none of them. Indeed, when the son eats at the mountain shrines and defiles his neighbor’s wife,
12and when he oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, and does not return collateral, and when he looks to the idols, commits detestable acts,
13and lends at interest or for profit, will he live? He will not live! Since he has committed all these detestable acts, he will certainly die. His death will be his own fault.
14"Now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do likewise.
15He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
16He doesn’t oppress anyone, hold collateral, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
17He keeps his hand from harming the poor, not taking interest or profit on a loan. He practices my ordinances and follows my statutes. Such a person will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will certainly live.
18"As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did among his people what was not good.
19But you may ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all my statutes, he will certainly live.
20The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.
21"But if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die.
22None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced.
23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" This is the declaration of the Lord God. "Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?
24But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
New Living Translation
10But suppose that man has a son who grows up to be a robber or murderer and refuses to do what is right.
11And that son does all the evil things his father would never do — he worships idols on the mountains, commits adultery,
12oppresses the poor and helpless, steals from debtors by refusing to let them redeem their security, worships idols, commits detestable sins,
13and lends money at excessive interest. Should such a sinful person live? No! He must die and must take full blame.
14But suppose that sinful son, in turn, has a son who sees his father’s wickedness and decides against that kind of life.
15This son refuses to worship idols on the mountains and does not commit adultery.
16He does not exploit the poor, but instead is fair to debtors and does not rob them. He gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.
17He helps the poor, does not lend money at interest, and obeys all my regulations and decrees. Such a person will not die because of his father’s sins; he will surely live.
18But the father will die for his many sins — for being cruel, robbing people, and doing what was clearly wrong among his people.
19‘What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the child pay for the parent’s sins?’ No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live.
20The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.
21But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
22All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.
23Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.
24However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
English Standard Version
10"If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things
11(though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor 's wife,
12oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination,
13lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.
14"Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:
15he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor 's wife,
16does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,
17withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father 's iniquity; he shall surely live.
18As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
19"Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.
20The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21"But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
22None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.
23Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
24But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
New International Version
11(though the father has done none of them): "He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
12He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things.
15"He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
16He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
17He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor and takes no interest or profit from them. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.
18But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.
19"Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.
20The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
21"But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.
22None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.
23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
New King James Version
Chapter 18
9 If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely live!” Says the Lord God. 10“If he begets a son who is a robber Or a 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 committed 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; His 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 Who 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; 17 Who 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, he shall die for his iniquity.
19“Yet you say, ‘Why should 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.
20The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21“But if 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.
22None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
23Do 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?
