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Sins of parents and children
18 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 What do you mean by this proverb of yours about the land of Israel: “When parents eat unripe grapes, the children’s teeth suffer”? 3 As surely as I live, says the Lord God, no longer will you use this proverb in Israel! 4 All lives are mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child belong to me. Only the one who sins will die.
5 People are declared innocent when they act justly and responsibly. 6 They don’t eat on the hills or give their attention to the idols of the house of Israel. They don’t defile the wives of their neighbors or approach menstruating women. 7 They don’t cheat anyone, but fulfill their obligations. They don’t rob others, but give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked. 8 They don’t impose interest or take profit. They refrain from evil and settle cases between people fairly. 9 They follow my regulations, keep my case laws, and act faithfully. Such people are innocent, and they will live, proclaims the Lord God.
10 But suppose one of them has a violent child who sheds blood or does any one of these things, 11 even though his parents didn’t do any of them. He eats on the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, robs others and doesn’t fulfill his obligations, pays attention to the idols and does detestable things, 13 and takes interest and profit. Should he live? He should not. He engaged in all these detestable practices. He will surely die, and his blood will be on him.
14 But suppose he has a child who sees all the sins that his father committed. He becomes alarmed and doesn’t do them. 15 He doesn’t eat on the mountains or pay attention to the idols of the house of Israel. He doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife. 16 He doesn’t cheat anyone, either by seizing collateral for loans or committing robbery. He gives his food to the hungry and clothes to the naked. 17 He refrains from oppressing the poor by taking neither interest nor profit. He observes my case laws and follows my regulations. He won’t die because of his father’s guilt. He will surely live. 18 As for his father: If he exploited the weak or committed robbery, or did anything else that wasn’t good for the people, he will die because of his own guilt.
19 You will say, “Why doesn’t the child bear his parent’s guilt?” The child has acted justly and responsibly. The child kept all my regulations and observed them. The child will surely live. 20 Only the one who sins will die. A child won’t bear a parent’s guilt, and a parent won’t bear a child’s guilt. Those who do right will be declared innocent, and the wicked will be declared guilty.
21 But if the wicked turn away from all the sins that they have committed, keep all my regulations, and act justly and responsibly, they will surely live and not die. 22 None of the sins that they committed will be held against them, but they will live because they do the right things. 23 Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Certainly not! If they change their ways, they will live.
24 If those who do the right thing turn from righteousness and engage in the same detestable practices that the wicked committed, can they do these things and live? None of their righteous deeds will be remembered. They will die because of their treacheries and sins. 25 But you say, “My Lord’s way doesn’t measure up.” Listen, house of Israel, is it my ways that don’t measure up? Isn’t it your ways that don’t measure up? 26 When those who do the right thing turn from their responsible ways and act maliciously, they will die because of it. For their malicious acts they will die. 27 And when the wicked turn from their wicked deeds and act justly and responsibly, they will preserve their lives. 28 When they become alarmed and turn away from all their sins, they will surely live; they won’t die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, “My Lord’s way doesn’t measure up.” Is it my ways that don’t measure up? Isn’t it your ways that don’t measure up, house of Israel? 30 Therefore, I will judge each of you according to your ways, house of Israel. This is what the Lord God says. Turn, turn away from all your sins. Don’t let them be sinful obstacles for you. 31 Abandon all of your repeated sins. Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? 32 I most certainly don’t want anyone to die! This is what the Lord God says. Change your ways, and live!
A mother’s sons
19 You, raise a lament for Israel’s princes. 2 Say:
What a lioness among lionesses was your mother!
She bedded down among the strong young lions and reared her cubs.
3 She singled out one of her cubs and he became a strong young lion;
he learned to tear flesh and devour humans.
4 When the nations heard about him, they caught him in their trap
and carried him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope faded.
So she took another of her cubs and set him up as a strong young lion.
6 He went on the prowl with the other lions and became a strong young lion.
He learned to tear flesh and devour humans;
7 he ravaged[a] their widows and laid waste to their cities.
When the earth and everything in it became horrified by the sound of his raging,
8 the nations from the surrounding regions allied against him.
They cast their nets over him and caught him in their trap.
9 They put a collar on him and brought him with hooks.
They brought him with nets to the king of Babylon
so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
The proud mother
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard[b] planted beside the waters;
she bore lush fruit and foliage because of the plentiful water,
11 and she produced mighty branches, fit for rulers’ scepters.
She grew tall, and her crown went up between the clouds.
Because of her height and thick growth, she became conspicuous.
12 So she was struck down in anger,
thrown down to the ground.
The east wind dried her out and destroyed her fruit;
it sapped the branch of its strength,
and fire consumed it.
13 So now she is planted in the desert,
in a parched and thirsty land,
14 and fire has gone out from her branch and consumed her foliage and fruit,
leaving her no strong branch
or ruler’s scepter.
This is a lamentation, and it will serve as a lamentation.
Christ’s service in the heavenly meeting tent
9 So then the first covenant had regulations for the priests’ service and the holy place on earth. 2 They pitched the first tent called the holy place. It contained the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of bread presented to God. 3 There was a tent behind the second curtain called the holy of holies. 4 It had the gold altar for incense and the chest containing the covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. In the chest there was a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the chest there were magnificent winged creatures[a] casting their shadow over the seat of the chest, where sin is taken care of. Right now we can’t talk about these things in detail. 6 When these things have been prepared in this way, priests enter the first tent all the time as they perform their service. 7 But only the high priest enters the second tent once a year. He never does this without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people committed in ignorance. 8 With this, the Holy Spirit is showing that the way into the holy place hadn’t been revealed yet while the first tent was standing. 9 This is a symbol for the present time. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices that are being offered can’t perfect the conscience of the one who is serving. 10 These are superficial regulations that are only about food, drink, and various ritual ways to wash with water. They are regulations that have been imposed until the time of the new order.
32 But they angered God at Meribah’s waters,
and things went badly for Moses because of them,
33 because they made him bitter
so that he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They didn’t destroy the nations
as the Lord had ordered them to do.
35 Instead, they got mixed up with the nations,
learning what they did
36 and serving those false gods,
which became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their own sons and daughters to demons!
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters—
the ones they sacrificed to Canaan’s false gods—
so the land was defiled by the bloodshed.
39 They made themselves unclean by what they did; they prostituted themselves by their actions.
40 So the Lord’s anger burned against his people;
he despised his own possession.
41 God handed them over to the nations;
people who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were humbled under their power.
43 God delivered them numerous times,
but they were determined to rebel,
and so they were brought down by their own sin.
44 But God saw their distress
when he heard their loud cries.
45 God remembered his covenant for their sake,
and because of how much faithful love he has,
God changed his mind.
46 God allowed them to receive compassion
from all their captors.
47 Lord our God, save us!
Gather us back together from among all the nations
so we can give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise!
48 Bless the Lord, the God of Israel,
from forever ago to forever from now!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
10 Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible