Beginning

18 ¶ The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

² What mean ye, that ye use this saying concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge?

³ As I live, said the Lord GOD, ye shall never again have reason to use this saying in Israel.

⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sins, it shall die.

⁵ But if a man is just and does judgment and righteousness,

⁶ that he does not eat upon the mountains, neither lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither defile his neighbour’s wife, neither come near to the menstruous woman,

⁷ neither oppress any, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment,

⁸ neither lends at interest, neither takes any increase, withdraws his hand from iniquity, executes true judgment between man and man,

⁹ walks in my statutes, and keeps my rights, to do according to the truth: he is just; he shall surely live, said the Lord GOD.

¹⁰ ¶ If he begets a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that does the like of any one of these things,

¹¹ and that does not do any of those duties, but, on the other hand, he does eat upon the mountains, or defiles his neighbour’s wife,

¹² oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, or lifts up his eyes to the idols, or makes an abomination,

¹³ gives forth upon usury and takes increase, shall he then live? He shall not live; he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

¹⁴ But if he begets a son that sees all his father’s sins which he has done and seeing them, does not do according to them,

¹⁵ that he does not eat upon the mountains, neither lifts up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor defiles his neighbour’s wife,

¹⁶ neither oppresses any, nor withholds the pledge, neither commits robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment,

¹⁷ takes off his hand from oppressing the poor, does not receive usury nor increase, acts according to my rights, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live.

¹⁸ As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, even he shall die for his iniquity.

¹⁹ Yet if ye say, Why does not the son bear the iniquity of the father? Because the son has lived according to judgment and righteousness and has kept all my statutes and has done them, he shall surely live.

²⁰ The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him who is righteous, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him who is wicked.

²¹ ¶ But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed and keep all my statutes and live according to judgment and righteousness, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

²² All his rebellions that he has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him; by his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

²³ Do I desire perchance the death of the wicked? said the Lord GOD, Shall he not live if he should leave his ways?

²⁴ But if the righteous should leave his righteousness and commit iniquity, and do according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned; by his rebellion in which he has trespassed and by his sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

²⁵ And if ye say, The way of the Lord is not straight. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not straight? Are not your ways crooked?

²⁶ When a righteous man leaves his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he shall die in it; for his iniquity that he has done he shall die.

²⁷ Again, when the wicked man leaves his wickedness that he has committed and lives according to judgment and righteousness, he shall cause his soul to live.

²⁸ Because he saw and left all his rebellions that he has committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

²⁹ If even now the house of Israel should say, The way of the Lord is not straight. O house of Israel, are not my ways straight? Certainly your ways are not straight.

³⁰ ¶ Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one according to his ways, said the Lord GOD. Repent and turn yourselves from all your iniquities, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

³¹ Cast away from you all your iniquities by which ye have rebelled, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

³² For I do not desire the death of him that dies, said the Lord GOD; therefore turn yourselves, and ye shall live.

19 ¶ And take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

² and thou shalt say, How hast thy mother, the lioness, lain down among the lions? She raised her whelps among the young lions.

³ And she brought up one of her whelps; it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey and to devour men.

⁴ The Gentiles also heard of him; he was taken in their trap, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

⁵ Now when she saw that she had waited a long time and her hope was being lost, then she took another of her whelps and made him a young lion.

⁶ And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion and learned to catch the prey and devoured men.

⁷ And he knew their widows, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness thereof, by the voice of his roaring.

⁸ Then the Gentiles set against him on every side from the provinces and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

⁹ And they put him in prison in chains and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into fortresses that his voice should no longer be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ ¶ Thy mother was like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters, bearing fruit and spreading forth branches by reason of the many waters.

¹¹ And she had strong rods for the sceptres of those that bore rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height and with the multitude of her branches.

¹² But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her branches were broken, and she withered; fire consumed the rod of her strength.

¹³ And now she is planted in the wilderness in a dry and thirsty ground.

¹⁴ And fire is gone out of the rod from her branches, which has devoured her fruit, so that no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule has remained in her. This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation.

20 ¶ And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD and sat before me.

² Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,

³ Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel and say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, said the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.

⁴ Dost thou desire to judge them? Dost thou desire to judge them, son of man? Notify them of the abominations of their fathers:

⁵ ¶ And say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said; In the day when I chose Israel and lifted up my hand for the seed of the house of Jacob and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt when I lifted up my hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;

⁶ in the day that I lifted up my hand unto them with an oath that I would bring them forth from the land of Egypt into a land that I had prepared for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the most beautiful of all lands,

⁷ then said I unto them, Cast away each one of you all worship of god fabricated by carnal appearance and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

⁸ But they rebelled against me and did not desire to hearken unto me; each one did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt; then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹ With all this, I intervened for my name’s sake that it should not be polluted before the Gentiles, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ ¶ Therefore I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness;

¹¹ and I gave them my statutes and declared unto them my rights, by which the man that does them shall live by them.

¹² And I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctifies them.

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they did not walk in my statutes, and they despised my rights, by which the man that does them shall live by them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted; therefore I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness to consume them.

¹⁴ But I intervened for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the Gentiles, in whose sight I brought them out.

¹⁵ Yet I also lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, with an oath that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the most beautiful of all lands,

¹⁶ because they despised my rights and did not walk in my statutes but polluted my Sabbaths, for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷ With all this, my eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ But I said unto their sons in the wilderness: Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither keep their laws, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

¹⁹ I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my rights, and do them;

²⁰ and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

²¹ Notwithstanding, the sons rebelled against me: they did not walk in my statutes, nor keep my rights to do them, by which the man that does them shall live by them; they polluted my Sabbaths; then I said: I would pour out my fury upon them to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

²² Nevertheless, I withdrew my hand and intervened for my name’s sake that it should not be polluted in the sight of the Gentiles in whose sight I brought them forth.

²³ I lifted up my hand unto them also in the wilderness with an oath that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them through the countries

²⁴ because they had not executed my rights and had despised my statutes and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.

²⁵ For this reason I also gave them statutes that were not good and rights by which they could not live,

²⁶ and I polluted them in their offerings when they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.

²⁷ ¶ Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel and say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Even in this your fathers have blasphemed me when they committed rebellion against me.

²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offerings; there also they made their sweet savour and poured out there their drink offerings.

²⁹ Then I said unto them, What is the high place unto which ye go? And its name is called Bamah unto this day.

³⁰ Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Perchance are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and do ye commit whoredom after their abominations?

³¹ For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day; and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, said the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.

³² And that which ye think shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the Gentiles, as the families of the nations to serve wood and stone.

³³ ¶ As I live, said the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out, I must rule over you:

³⁴ and I will bring you out from among the peoples and will gather you out of the countries in which ye are scattered with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out.

³⁵ And I will bring you into the wilderness of peoples, and there I will litigate with you face to face.

³⁶ Like as I litigated with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will litigate with you, said the Lord GOD.

³⁷ And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

³⁸ and I will purge out from among you the rebels and those that rebelled against me; I will take them out of the country where they have gone, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

³⁹ As for you, O house of Israel, thus hath the Lord GOD said: Go, serve ye each one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me, but do not pollute my holy name any longer with your gifts and with your idols.

⁴⁰ For in the mountain of my holiness, in the high mountain of Israel, said the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel serve me, all of them in the land; there will I be pleased with them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits of your gifts with all your sacred things.

⁴¹ I will accept you with your sweet savour when I have brought you out from among the peoples and gathered you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the eyes of the Gentiles.

⁴² And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the land for which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.

⁴³ And there ye shall remember your ways and all your doings, in which ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

⁴⁴ And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have intervened with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, said the Lord GOD.

⁴⁵ ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁴⁶ Son of man, set thy face toward the south and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;

⁴⁷ and thou shalt say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD. Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Behold, I kindle a fire in thee, which shall devour every green tree in thee and every dry tree; the flame of the fire shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

⁴⁸ And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.

⁴⁹ Then I said, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Does he not speak parables?