Old/New Testament
The Wicked Will Die; The Righteous Will Live
18 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 What do you mean, you who keep repeating this proverb concerning the soil of Israel, “Fathers eat sour grapes, and their sons’ teeth are set on edge”? 3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, you will never again use this proverb in Israel. 4 Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
5 If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, 6 if he does not eat on the mountains and does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols[a] of the house of Israel, if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife and does not approach a woman during her period, 7 if he does not exploit anyone but returns the collateral given to him for a loan, if he does not seize another person’s property by force but gives his own food to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, 8 if he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends to someone and he does not demand that people repay more than he lent them, if he holds back his hand from unrighteousness and administers impartial justice between two parties, 9 that is, if he walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances by acting faithfully, that man is righteous and he will surely live, declares the Lord God.
10 Now if he fathers a violent son, who sheds blood or who does any one of these evil things to a brother[b] 11 (although the father did not do all these things), but the son goes so far as to eat on the mountains and even defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 exploits the poor and the needy, seizes other people’s property by force, does not return the collateral on a loan, lifts up his eyes to the filthy idols, commits abominations, 13 and deducts a fee from the money he lends to someone and demands that people repay more than he lent them—will he live? He will not live! He committed all these abominations, so he will surely be put to death. His blood will be upon him.
14 But if that son himself fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has committed, and though he sees, he does not do likewise— 15 he does not eat on the mountains, he does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols of the house of Israel, he does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 he does not exploit anyone, he does not require collateral for a loan, he does not seize another person’s property by force, he gives his own food to the hungry and he covers the naked with clothing, 17 he takes care not to harm the poor,[c] he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends someone or demand that people repay more than he lent them, but he keeps my ordinances and walks according to my statutes—that man will not die because of his father’s guilt. He will surely live. 18 But his father, if he practices extortion, seizes his brother’s goods by force, and does what was not good among his own people, he will surely die because of his own guilt.
19 But you ask, “Why doesn’t the son share in the guilt of the father?” Because the son did what was just and right. He kept all my statutes and carried them out, so he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father, and the father will not share in the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous person will be credited to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be charged against him alone.
21 A wicked man, if he turns away from[d] all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and carries out justice and righteousness, he will surely live. He will not die. 22 All of the rebellious acts that he had committed will not be remembered against him. Because of his righteousness that he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I really find any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Don’t I want him to turn from his ways and live?
24 But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does what is unrighteous—namely, all the abominations that the wicked man practices—will he live? All the righteous deeds that he did will not be remembered. Because he added one infidelity to another and because of the sins that he has committed, because of them, he will die.
25 But you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen now, house of Israel. Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26 If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices unrighteousness, he will die because of it. Because of the unrighteousness that he has practiced, he will die.
27 But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done and practices justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. 28 Because he has seen and turned away from[e] all the rebellious acts that he had committed, he will surely live, and he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Is it really my ways that are not fair, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair?
30 Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty. 31 Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!
A Parable About Israel’s Princes
19 Now you are to take up a lament for the princes of Israel. 2 This is what you are to say:
What a lioness your mother was!
She crouched among the lions.
Among the young lions she reared her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs.[f]
When he became a young lion,
he learned to tear his prey.
He even ate humans.
4 When the nations heard about him,
he was trapped in their pit.
With hooks they led him to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she was waiting in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled around among the lions,
because he too had become a young lion.
He learned to tear prey.
He even ate humans.
7 He knew how many widows he made[g]
as he ravaged their cities.
The land and everyone in it were stunned
by the noise of his roaring.
8 Nations set upon him from the surrounding provinces.
They spread their net over him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
9 With hooks they put him in a wooden cage,[h]
and they brought him[i] to the king of Babylon.
They brought him into prison
so that his roar would no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,[j]
planted by water, fruitful and full of branches
because of plentiful waters.
11 Its strong branches[k] became scepters for rulers.
It towered high, among the clouds.
It was outstanding because of its height,
and because of the abundance of its branches.
12 But the vine was uprooted in wrath,
and it was hurled to the ground.
The east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branch was torn off so that it dried up,
and fire devoured it.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire has come out from its main branch
and consumed its fruit,
so that it no longer has a strong branch,
no scepter fit for ruling.
This is a lament, and it was used as a lament.
Do Not Love the World
4 Where do conflicts and quarrels among you come from? Don’t they come from your cravings for pleasure, which are at war in the parts of your body? 2 You want something but do not get it, so you murder. You desire something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask, and yet do not receive, because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on what gives you pleasure.
4 Adulterers,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or, do you think that Scripture has no reason for saying that the Spirit, who lives in us,[b] yearns jealously?[c] 6 But he gives greater grace! That is why it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[d]
7 So, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded people. 9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Let God Be the Judge
11 Do not speak against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother is speaking against the law and judging the law. But if you judge the law, you are not one who does the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge. He is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
God’s Will Be Done
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that city, spend a year there, do business, and make a profit.” 14 You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? Indeed, it is[e] a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears. 15 Instead, it is better for you to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live, and we will do this or that.” 16 But right now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So, for the one who knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it, this is a sin.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.