Ezekiel 18

The proverb of the sour grapes

¹The word of the LORD came to me: ²What do you mean by repeating this proverb about the land of Israel: “The parents eat sour grapes, but it is the children whose teeth are set on edge”? ³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb will no longer be quoted in Israel. ⁴Every life belongs to me, the life of the parent as well as the life of the child; both belong to me. The person who sins is the one who will die.^a

A righteous man, his son and his grandson

⁵Suppose there is a man who is righteous and does what is just and right, ⁶who does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel, who does not defile his neighbor’s wife or have relations with a woman during her period, ⁷who does not oppress anyone but returns what a debtor gave him as a pledge, who does not rob but gives his food to the hungry and clothes the naked, ⁸who does not lend at interest or take profit, who keeps his hand from wrongdoing and judges fairly between one person and another, ⁹and who follows my statutes and keeps my rulings faithfully. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁰But suppose he has a son who is violent, who sheds blood and does any of these things, ¹¹though the father himself did none of them. This son eats at the mountain shrines, defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹²oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not return what was pledged, looks to the idols, does detestable things, ¹³and lends at interest and takes profit. Will such a man live? He will not live! He has done all these detestable things; he will surely be put to death. His blood will be on his own head. ¹⁴But suppose this man in turn has a son, and the son sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do the same, ¹⁵who does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel, who does not defile his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶who does not oppress anyone or demand a pledge, who does not rob but gives his food to the hungry and clothes the naked, ¹⁷who keeps his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or profit, who obeys my rulings and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father’s guilt; he will surely live.^{b 18}But as for his father, he will die for his own guilt, because he extorted from others, robbed his brother and did what was not good among his people. ¹⁹Yet you ask, “Why should the son not share the guilt of his father?” The son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my statutes, so he will surely live. ²⁰The person who sins is the one who will die. A child will not share the guilt of a parent, and a parent will not share the guilt of a child. The righteousness of the righteous will be their own, and the wickedness of the wicked will be their own.

When the wicked turn from their sins

²¹But if wicked people turn away from all the sins they have committed, keep all my statutes and do what is just and right, they will surely live; they will not die. ²²None of the rebellious acts they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteousness they have practiced, they will live. ²³Is it any pleasure to me when the wicked die? declares the Lord GOD. Would I not rather that they turn from their ways and live?

When the righteous turn away

²⁴But if righteous people turn away from their righteousness and do wrong, committing all the same detestable things that the wicked do, will they live? None of the righteous things they have done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and the sins they have committed, they will die. ²⁵Yet you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? ²⁶If righteous people turn away from their righteousness and do wrong, they will die for it; because of the wrong they have done, they will die.

Turn and live

²⁷And if wicked people turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. ²⁸Because they thought it over and turned away from all the rebellious acts they had committed, they will surely live; they will not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Are my ways unfair, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unfair? ³⁰Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to your ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that your guilt will not bring you down. ³¹Throw away all the rebellious acts you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why would you die, house of Israel? ³²The death of anyone gives me no pleasure, declares the Lord GOD. So turn back and live!