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.

⁵ You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

³ Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’ ⁴ Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’

⁵ “Where are your ancestors now? They and the prophets are long dead. ⁶ But everything I said through my servants the prophets happened to your ancestors, just as I said. As a result, they repented and said, ‘We have received what we deserved from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He has done what he said he would do.’”

⁴ Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁸ “Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols. ¹⁹ ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, ²⁰ and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’

² “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?

⁹ You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

³⁰ “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images?

²⁴ because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.

⁹ and faithfully obeys my decrees and regulations. Anyone who does these things is just and will surely live, says the Sovereign Lord.