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12 “And you, son of man, say to your people,[a] ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels.[b] As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it.[c] The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness[d] if he sins.’[e] 13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die. 14 Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right. 15 He[f] returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life,[g] committing no iniquity. He will certainly live—he will not die. 16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted[h] against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
  2. Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.
  3. Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”
  4. Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “by it.”
  5. Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
  6. Ezekiel 33:15 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
  7. Ezekiel 33:15 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
  8. Ezekiel 33:16 tn Heb “remembered.”

12 And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stagger because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, whereas a righteous man will not be able to live because of his [previous acts of] righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ 13 When I say to the righteous that he will most certainly live, and he trusts in his [previous acts of] righteousness [to save him] and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but he will die for his injustice that he committed. 14 But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices that which is just (fair) and right— 15 if a wicked man returns [what he took as] a pledge, pays back what he had taken by robbery, walks in the statutes which ensure life, without committing injustice, he will certainly live; he will not die. 16 None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced that which is just (fair) and right; he will most certainly live.

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