Beginning
God’s Just Treatment of Individuals, Both Righteous and Wicked
18 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “What do you mean by[c] quoting this proverb about the land of Israel, saying,[d] ‘The fathers, they ate unripe fruit, and the teeth of the child became blunt.’[e] 3 As I live,[f] declares[g] the Lord Yahweh, it will surely not any longer be appropriate for you[h] to quote this proverb in Israel! 4 Look! All lives are mine.[i] The lives of father and son alike are mine.[j] The person[k] sinning will die. 5 And if a man is righteous and does justice and righteousness, 6 and on the mountains he does not eat and he does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he does not defile and he does not approach a woman of[l] menstruation, 7 and he oppresses no one[m] and he returns a pledge for his loan and he commits no robbery[n] and he gives[o] his bread to the hungry and he covers a naked person with a garment, 8 and he does not charge interest[p] and he takes no usury, and he holds back[q] his hand from injustice and he executes a judgment of fairness between persons,[r] 9 and in my statutes he goes about and my regulations he keeps,[s] performing faithfully[t] —then he is righteous, and certainly he will live,” declares[u] the Lord Yahweh.
10 “And now he has a son, a violent one, who sheds blood[v] and does any of these things[w] 11 (though[x] he[y] did not do all of these things), for the son also[z] eats on the mountains and he defiles the wife of his neighbor. 12 He oppresses the needy and the poor, and he commits robbery,[aa] and he does not return a pledge for a loan, and he lifts his eyes to the idols so he does a detestable thing. 13 He charges interest[ab] and takes usury. Then, shall he live? He shall not live, for he did all of these detestable things. Surely he will die! His blood will be on him.
14 “And look! He has a son, and he sees all of the sin of his father that he did, and he sees it, but he does not do it. 15 On the mountains he does not eat, and he does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he does not defile. 16 And he oppresses no one; he requires no pledge for a loan, and he does not commit robbery;[ac] he gives his bread to the hungry, and he covers the naked person with a garment. 17 He brings back[ad] his hand from iniquity;[ae] he does not take interest and usury; he does my regulations; he goes[af] in my statutes. He will not die because of the guilt of his father; he will surely live! 18 Because his father oppressed severely;[ag] he stole from his brother;[ah] that which is not good he did in the midst of his people, and look! He will die through[ai] his guilt.
19 “Yet[aj] you say, ‘Why does the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ And since the son does justice and righteousness and he keeps all of my statutes and does them, he shall surely live! 20 The person,[ak] the one sinning, will die. A son shall not bear the guilt of the father, and a father shall not bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him; the wickedness of the wicked[al] shall be on him. 21 But if the wicked returns from all of his sins[am] that he has done and he keeps all of my statutes and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die! 22 All of his transgressions that he committed will not be remembered against[an] him. Through[ao] his righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I delight by any means[ap] in the death of the wicked, declares[aq] the Lord Yahweh, and not at his turning from his way, so that[ar] he lives? 24 And when the righteous turns[as] from his righteousness, so that[at] he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then[au] will he live because of all of his righteousness[av] that he did? Those things will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his sin that he committed.[aw] Through[ax] them he shall die.
25 “Yet[ay] you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ Listen, now, house of Israel, is my way not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26 When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and he does injustice, then[az] he will die because of them; because of his injustice that he did he will die! 27 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness that he did and he does justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life.[ba] 28 And if he sees and he returns from all of his transgressions that he did, surely he will live; he will not die! 29 And yet they, the house of Israel, say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ Are not my ways fair, house of Israel? Are not your ways unfair?[bb]
30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one[bc] according to his ways,” declares[bd] the Lord Yahweh. “Repent[be] and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you. 31 Throw away from yourselves[bf] all of your transgressions that you committed,[bg] and make for yourselves[bh] a new heart and new spirit, and so why will you die, house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying,” declares[bi] the Lord Yahweh. “And so repent[bj] and live!”
Lament for the Leaders of Israel
19 “And you, raise a lament about[bk] the leaders of Israel, 2 and you must say,
‘What a lioness was your mother
among the lions.
She lay down in the midst of young lions,
and she reared her lion cubs.
3 And she raised up one from her cubs;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate[bl] humans.[bm]
4 And nations heard about him;
in their pit he was caught,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 And she saw[bn] that she was waiting in vain;
her hope was destroyed,
and she took one from her cubs,
and she made him a fierce lion.
6 And he walked about in the midst of lions;
he became a fierce lion,
and he learned to tear prey;
he ate[bo] humans.[bp]
7 And he knew their widows,[bq]
and he devastated their cities,
and the land was appalled, and everyone in it[br]
at the sound of his roar.
8 And nations set out against him
from the surrounding provinces,[bs]
and they spread their net over him,
and he was caught in their pit.
9 And they put him in a collar with hooks,
and they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into[bt] a prison,
so that his voice would not be heard any longer[bu]
on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like the vine in your vineyard;[bv]
planted fruitfully[bw] beside water,
and it was full of branches
from many waters.[bx]
11 And she produced branches of strength[by]
to[bz] scepters of rulers;
its height became tall
between[ca] thick foliage,
and it was seen[cb] because of its tallness
among the abundance of its branches.
12 But it was uprooted in rage;
it was thrown to the earth,
and the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off,
and its strong branch dried up;
fire consumed it.
13 And now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and thirsty land.[cc]
14 And so fire has gone out from the stem of its branches;
its fruit it has consumed,
and there was not in it a strong branch,[cd]
a scepter for ruling.’”
This is a lament, and it will be used as a lament.[ce]
God’s Dealings with Israel for His Name’s Sake
20 And then in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat before me.[cf] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[cg] to me, saying,[ch] 3 “Son of man,[ci] speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Are you coming to consult me? As I live,[cj] I will surely not allow myself[ck] to be consulted by you!”’ declares[cl] the Lord Yahweh. 4 Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man?[cm] Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.[cn] 5 And you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “On the day of my choosing Israel I swore[co] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and I swore[cp] to them, saying,[cq] ‘I am Yahweh your God.’ 6 On that day I swore[cr] to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to the land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands. 7 Then I said to them, ‘Let each one throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I am Yahweh your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each one did not throw away[cs] the detestable things of their eyes; and they did not abandon[ct] the idols of Egypt, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9 “But[cu] I acted for the sake of my name to keep it from being profaned[cv] before the eyes of the nations among whom they lived,[cw] where I made known to them before their eyes, to bring them out from the land of Egypt. 10 And I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and I brought them to the desert, 11 and I gave my statutes to them, and my regulations I made known to them, which, if a person does them, then he will live by them. 12 And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them so they would know[cx] that I, Yahweh, am the one sanctifying them.
13 “But[cy] in the desert the house of Israel rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[cz] and they rejected my regulations, which, if a person does them, he will live by them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths, and I decided to pour out my rage on them in the desert to destroy them, 14 and I acted for the sake of my name, that it not be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I brought them out.[da] 15 And also I myself swore[db] to them in the desert not to bring them into the land that I had given to them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands— 16 because they despised my judgments, and they did not walk in my statutes,[dc] and my Sabbaths they profaned, for their heart was going after their idols. 17 But my eye took pity on them by not destroying them, and I did not completely destroy them[dd] in the desert.
18 “And I said to their children in the desert, ‘You must not go in the statutes of your parents;[de] you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols. 19 I, Yahweh, am your God, so go in my statutes and keep my regulations and do them. 20 And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you that you may know[df] that I, Yahweh, am your God.’ 21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[dg] and they did not observe my regulations,[dh] which if a person does them, then he will live by them. My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to finish my anger against them in the desert. 22 But I withheld my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I had brought them out before their eyes. 23 What is more, I swore[di] to them in the desert to scatter them among the nations and to disperse them in the lands, 24 because they did not do my regulations, and my statutes they despised, and my Sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the idols of their ancestors.[dj] 25 And in turn I gave to them rules that were not good and regulations by which they will not live.[dk] 26 And I defiled them through their gifts in sacrificing all of the first offspring of the womb, in order that[dl] I will cause them to be stunned, so that they will know that I am Yahweh.
27 “Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man,[dm] and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Again in this your ancestors blasphemed me at[dn] their display of infidelity toward me.”’[do] 28 And I brought them to the land that I swore[dp] to give[dq] to them, and they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered their sacrifices, and they presented there the provocation of their offering, and they gave there their fragrant incense offering, and they poured out their libations there. 29 And I said to them, ‘What is the high place[dr] to which you are going?’ And it is called[ds] Bamah until this day. 30 Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “In the way of your ancestors[dt] will you defile yourself, and after their vile idols will you prostitute yourselves? 31 And when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children[du] through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until today,[dv] and will I let myself[dw] be consulted by you, house of Israel?”’ As I live,”[dx] declares[dy] the Lord Yahweh, “I will not let myself[dz] be consulted by you! 32 And what you are planning,[ea] surely it will not be—that you are saying, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the clans[eb] of the lands, serving wood and stone!’[ec]
33 “As I live,”[ed] declares[ee] the Lord Yahweh, “surely[ef] with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage pouring forth[eg] I will reign as king over you! 34 And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries to which you were scattered with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out. 35 Then I will bring you to the desert of the peoples, and I will execute justice on you there face to face. 36 Just as[eh] I executed justice on your ancestors[ei] in the desert of the land of Egypt, likewise I will execute justice on you!” declares[ej] the Lord Yahweh. 37 “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 And I will purge the rebels from among you and the ones transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land where they are living as aliens,[ek] but into the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am Yahweh.
39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but my holy name[el] you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 “For on my holy mountain,[em] on the mountain of the height of Israel,” declares[en] the Lord Yahweh, “there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them,[eo] in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant incense offering[ep] when I bring you out from the peoples and I gather you from the lands to which you were scattered, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations. 42 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I swore[eq] to give to your ancestors. 43 And you will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds by which you were made unclean,[er] and you will feel a loathing for yourself[es] for all of your evils that you have done. 44 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I deal with you[et] for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways[eu] or according to[ev] your corrupted deeds, house of Israel,” declares[ew] the Lord Yahweh.
45 [ex] And the word of Yahweh came[ey] to me, saying,[ez] 46 “Son of man,[fa] set your face toward the way of the south,[fb] and preach to the south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev. 47 And you must say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. 48 And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, ‘Is he not posing a parable?’”
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