Ezekiel 18-19

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. ⁴Behold, 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— ⁶if 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, ¹²oppresses 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: ¹⁵he 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, ¹⁶does 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, ¹⁷withholds 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. ¹⁸As 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. ²⁷Again, ^(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. ²⁸Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹Yet 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, ²and say:

What was your mother? ^(BM)A lioness!
    Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
    she reared her cubs.
³And she brought up one of her cubs;
    ^(BN)he became a young lion,
^(BO)and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men.
⁴The nations heard about him;
    ^(BP)he was caught in their pit,
^(BQ)and they brought him with hooks
    to the land of Egypt.
⁵When she saw that she waited in vain,
    that her hope was lost,
^(BR)she took another of her cubs
    and made him a young lion.
⁶He prowled among the lions;
    he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
    he devoured men,
⁷and seized^[e] their widows.
    He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
    at the sound of his roaring.
⁸^(BS)Then the nations set against him
    from provinces on every side;
^(BT)they spread their net over him;
    ^(BU)he was taken in their pit.
⁹With hooks ^(BV)they put him in a cage^[f]
    and ^(BW)brought him to the king of Babylon;
    they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
    on ^(BX)the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was ^(BY)like a vine in a vineyard^[g]
    planted by the water,
^(BZ)fruitful and full of branches
    ^(CA)by reason of abundant water.
¹¹Its strong stems became
    rulers' scepters;
it towered aloft
    among the thick boughs;^[h]
it was seen in its height
    with the mass of its branches.
¹²But the vine was plucked up in fury,
    cast down to the ground;
^(CB)the east wind dried up its fruit;
    they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
    fire consumed it.
¹³^(CC)Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
¹⁴^(CD)And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
    has consumed its fruit,
^(CE)so that there remains in it no strong stem,
    no scepter for ruling.

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

Footnotes

Ezekiel 18:2 The Hebrew for you is plural
Ezekiel 18:8 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor; also verses 13, 17 (compare Leviticus 25:36)
Ezekiel 18:17 Septuagint; Hebrew from the poor
Ezekiel 18:30 Or lest iniquity be your stumbling block
Ezekiel 19:7 Hebrew knew
Ezekiel 19:9 Or in a wooden collar
Ezekiel 19:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts in your blood
Ezekiel 19:11 Or the clouds

John 12:1-26

English Standard Version

Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before ^(A)the Passover, ^(B)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, ^(C)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²So they gave a dinner for him there. ^(D)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ³^(E)Mary therefore took a pound^[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(F)given to the poor?” ⁶He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(G)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it^[c] for the day of my burial. ⁸For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus^[d] was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^(H)whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰^(I)So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, ¹¹because ^(J)on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day ^(K)the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³So they took branches of ^(L)palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ^(M)“Hosanna! Blessed is ^(N)he who comes in the name of the Lord, even ^(O)the King of Israel!” ¹⁴And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

¹⁵^(P)“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”

¹⁶^(Q)His disciples did not understand these things at first, but ^(R)when Jesus was glorified, then ^(S)they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. ¹⁷^(T)The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. ¹⁸The reason why the crowd went to meet him ^(U)was that they heard he had done this sign. ¹⁹So the Pharisees said to one another, ^(V)“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, ^(W)the world has gone after him.”

Some Greeks Seek Jesus

²⁰Now ^(X)among those who went up to worship at the feast were some ^(Y)Greeks. ²¹So these came to ^(Z)Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went and told ^(AA)Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³And Jesus answered them, ^(AB)“The hour has come ^(AC)for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AD)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵^(AE)Whoever loves his life loses it, and ^(AF)whoever ^(AG)hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, he must ^(AH)follow me; and ^(AI)where I am, there will my servant be also. ^(AJ)If anyone serves me, ^(AK)the Father will honor him.

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Footnotes

John 12:3 Greek litra; a litra (or Roman pound) was equal to about 11 1/2 ounces or 327 grams
John 12:5 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
John 12:7 Or Leave her alone; she intended to keep it
John 12:9 Greek he