Ezekiel 18:1-9

New King James Version

A False Proverb Refuted

18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ²“What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying:

‘The ^(A)fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

³“As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

⁴“Behold, all souls are ^(B)Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
^(C)The soul who sins shall die.
⁵But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
⁶^(D)If he has not eaten ^[a]on the mountains,
Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor ^(E)defiled his neighbor’s wife,
Nor approached ^(F)a woman during her impurity;
⁷If he has not ^(G)oppressed anyone,
But has restored to the debtor his ^(H)pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence,
But has ^(I)given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with ^(J)clothing;
⁸If he has not ^[b]exacted ^(K)usury
Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And ^(L)executed true ^[c]judgment between man and man;
⁹If he has walked in My statutes
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely ^(M)live!”
Says the Lord God.