Ezekiel 18-20

English Standard Version

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

18 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you^[a] mean ^(A)by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ^(B)‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge’? ^3 (C)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(D)this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: ^(E)the soul who sins shall die.

⁵ “If a man is righteous and does ^(F)what is just and right— ⁶ if he ^(G)does not eat upon the mountains or ^(H)lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, ^(I)does not defile his neighbor's wife ^(J)or approach ^(K)a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, ^7 (L)does not oppress anyone, but ^(M)restores to the debtor his pledge, ^(N)commits no robbery, ^(O)gives his bread to the hungry ^(P)and covers the naked with a garment, ^8 (Q)does not lend at interest ^(R)or take any profit,^[b] withholds his hand from injustice, ^(S)executes true justice between man and man, ^9 (T)walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; ^(U)he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

¹⁰ “If he fathers a son who is violent, ^(V)a shedder of blood, who does any of these things ¹¹ (though he himself did none of these things), ^(W)who even eats upon the mountains, ^(X)defiles his neighbor's wife, ¹² oppresses the poor and needy, ^(Y)commits robbery, ^(Z)does not restore the pledge, ^(AA)lifts up his eyes to the idols, ^(AB)commits abomination, ^13 (AC)lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; ^(AD)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: ¹⁵ he 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, ¹⁶ does not oppress anyone, ^(AE)exacts no pledge, ^(AF)commits no robbery, ^(AG)but gives his bread to the hungry ^(AH)and covers the naked with a garment, ¹⁷ withholds his hand from iniquity,^[c] takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, ^(AI)and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; ^(AJ)he shall surely live. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ^(AK)behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ^(AL)‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done ^(AM)what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, ^(AN)he shall surely live. ^20 (AO)The soul who sins shall die. ^(AP)The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. ^(AQ)The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, ^(AR)and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

^21 (AS)“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does ^(AT)what is just and right, ^(AU)he shall surely live; he shall not die. ^22 (AV)None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. ^23 (AW)Have 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? ^24 (AX)But 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? ^(AY)None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for ^(AZ)the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

^25 (BA)“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ^26 (BB)When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. ²⁷ Again, ^(BC)when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸ Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰ “Therefore ^(BD)I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. ^(BE)Repent and turn from all your transgressions, ^(BF)lest iniquity be your ruin.^{[d] 31 (BG)}Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and ^(BH)make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ^(BI)Why will you die, O house of Israel? ^32 (BJ)For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; ^(BK)so turn, and live.”

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

19 And you, ^(BL)take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ² and say:

This is ^(CF)a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

20 ^(CG)In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^(CH)the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, ^(CI)and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^3 (CJ)“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^(CK)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(CL)I will not be inquired of by you. ^4 (CM)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^(CN)Let them know the abominations of their fathers, ⁵ and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(CO)On the day when I chose Israel, ^(CP)I swore^[i] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^(CQ)making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^(CR)I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. ⁶ On that day I swore to them that ^(CS)I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^(CT)flowing with milk and honey, ^(CU)the most glorious of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ^(CV)‘Cast away the detestable things ^(CW)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^(CX)the idols of Egypt; ^(CY)I am the Lord your God.’ ^8 (CZ)But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^(DA)None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^(DB)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ^9 (DC)But I acted ^(DD)for the sake of my name, ^(DE)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^(DF)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ^10 (DG)So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^11 (DH)I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^(DI)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them ^(DJ)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^(DK)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ^13 (DL)But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^(DM)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^(DN)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^(DO)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^(DP)in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(DQ)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(DR)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^(DS)flowing with milk and honey, ^(DT)the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^(DU)for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, ^(DV)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^(DW)make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to ^(DX)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ^(DY)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(DZ)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (EA)I am the Lord your God; ^(EB)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰ and ^(EC)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(ED)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ^21 (EE)But the children ^(EF)rebelled against me. ^(EG)They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^(EH)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ^22 (EI)But I withheld my hand ^(EJ)and acted for the sake of my name, ^(EK)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ^23 (EL)Moreover, ^(EM)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(EN)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^(EO)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. ^25 (EP)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, ²⁶ and I defiled them through ^(EQ)their very gifts ^(ER)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^(ES)that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷ “Therefore, ^(ET)son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^(EU)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land that ^(EV)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(EW)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(EX)the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ (I said to them, ^(EY)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah^[j] to this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(EZ)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^(FA)whoring after their detestable things? ³¹ When you present your gifts and ^(FB)offer up your children in fire,^[k] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^(FC)shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^(FD)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

^32 (FE)“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^(FF)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^(FG)and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

^33 (FH)“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(FI)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(FJ)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ^34 (FK)I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. ^35 (FL)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(FM)and there I will enter into judgment with you ^(FN)face to face. ^36 (FO)As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you ^(FP)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^38 (FQ)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(FR)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(FS)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(FT)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^(FU)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^(FV)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

^40 (FW)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^(FX)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^(FY)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹ As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^(FZ)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^(GA)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ^42 (GB)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^(GC)I swore to give to your fathers. ^43 (GD)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^(GE)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(GF)when I deal with you for my name's sake, ^(GG)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

^45 [l] And the word of the Lord came to me: ^46 (GH)“Son of man, ^(GI)set your face toward the southland;^{[m] (GJ)}preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, ^(GK)I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^(GL)green tree in you and every ^(GM)dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^(GN)all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. ^48 (GO)All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹ Then I said, ^(GP)“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^(GQ)‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”