Old/New Testament
Chapter 18[a]
Individual Responsibility. 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Why do you insist on repeating this proverb in the land of Israel:
The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and their children’s teeth are set on edge?
3 As I live, says the Lord God, you will no longer repeat this proverb in Israel. 4 Do not forget that all lives are mine. The life of the father and the life of the son are both mine. Only the person who sins shall die.
5 Reflect upon a virtuous man
who does what is lawful and right.
6 He does not eat[b] on the mountains
or lift up his eyes
to the idols of the house of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife
or have relations with a woman
during her menstrual period.
7 He does not oppress anyone
but returns his pledge to a debtor.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and his clothes to those who are naked.
8 He does not lend money for profit
or charge interest.
He refrains from evildoing
and judges fairly between a man and his opponent.
9 He obeys my laws
and is careful to observe my ordinances.
Such a man is righteous;
he shall surely live,
says the Lord God.
10 But this man may have a son who is violent and sheds blood, 11 or does any of these other deeds, even though his father has done none of them:
He eats at the mountain shrines
and defiles his neighbor’s wife.
12 He oppresses the poor and the needy,
commits robbery,
and does not return pledges.
He lifts his eyes to idols,
does abominable things,
13 and lends for profit or charges interest.
Will such a man live? He will not. Since he has done all of these detestable acts, he shall surely be put to death, and his blood will be on his own head.
14 But suppose this man has a son who observes all the sins his father has committed, and even though he sees them, he refuses to follow in his footsteps:
15 He does not eat on the mountains
or lift up his eyes
to the idols of the house of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife;
16 he does not oppress anyone
or exact a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and his clothes to those who are naked.
17 He refrains from evildoing
and accepts no usury or excessive profit.
He obeys my laws
and is careful to observe my ordinances.
This man will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father will die for his iniquity because he practiced extortion, robbed his brothers, and never did what was good for his people.
19 You may ask, “Why should not the son share the guilt of his father?” If the son has done what is lawful and just, and he has been careful to observe all my laws, he will surely live. 20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son shall not bear the responsibility for his father’s guilt, nor shall a father be charged with the guilt of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man shall be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked man shall be charged against him.
21 However, if the wicked renounce all of the sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is right and just, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 22 None of the crimes that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they shall live because of the righteous deeds that they have done 23 Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? asks the Lord God. Would I not rather rejoice to see them turn away from their wickedness and live?
24 But if the righteous turn away from their virtuous ways to follow the path of evil and do the same kind of abominable deeds that the wicked do, can they do this and live? None of their virtuous deeds will be remembered. Because of their infidelity and the sins they have committed, they shall die.
25 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unjust.” Now listen, O house of Israel! Is my way unfair? Or, rather, is it not your ways that are unfair? 26 When those who are righteous turn away from their righteousness and turn to evil pursuits, they shall die as a result of the iniquity that they have committed.
27 Similarly, when those who are wicked turn away from the wickedness that they have committed and do what is right and just, they shall save their life. 28 Since they have chosen to renounce all of the evil ways that they have followed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
29 Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
30 Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one of you according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent and renounce all your transgressions. Otherwise your iniquity will prove to be your downfall. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed, and strengthen yourself with a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Repent and live!
Chapter 19[c]
Allegory of the Lions[d]
1 Raise a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among the lions!
She lay down among the young lions,
rearing her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs;
he grew into a young lion,
and he learned to tear apart his prey;
he devoured men.
4 Then the nations sounded an alarm against him,
and he was caught in their pit.
They dragged him off with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When his mother saw that her hopes were thwarted
and her expectations would not be fulfilled,
she took another of her cubs
and made a young lion of him.
6 He prowled among the lions
and grew into a young lion.
He learned to seize his prey;
he devoured men.
7 He ravaged their strongholds
and laid waste their cities.
The land and all of its inhabitants were terrified
at the sound of his roars.
8 The nations came forth against him
from the surrounding regions.
They spread their net over him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
9 With hooks they dragged him into a cage
and took him away to the king of Babylon.
He was imprisoned, and his roars were no longer heard
on the mountains of Israel.
Allegory of the Vine Branch
10 Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water.
It was fruitful and full of branches
because of the abundant water.
11 Its branches were strong,
suitable for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered in stately height
among the dense foliage.
It was conspicuous for its height
and its many branches.
12 However, it was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
Its strong branches became withered
and were consumed by fire.
13 Now it has been transplanted to the desert,
to a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire burst forth from its stem,
devouring its branches and fruit.
It no longer has any strong branch
that could serve as a ruler’s scepter.
This is a lamentation, and it is used for this purpose.
Chapter 4
The Need To Control Passions.[a] 1 What is the source of these conflicts and quarrels among you? Are they not the result of your passions[b] that are at war within you? 2 You want something that you cannot have, so you commit murder. And you covet something but cannot obtain it, so you engage in quarrels and fights. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 When you ask, you do not get what you want because you do not ask for it with the proper motives, seeking rather to indulge your passions.
4 Adulterers! Do you not know that love of the world results in enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose that it is without reason that Scripture says, “He yearns jealously for the Spirit that he sent to live in us”?[c] 6 But he has bestowed an even stronger grace. Therefore, it says,
“God resists the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble.”
7 Hence, be subject to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you waverers. 9 Be sorrowful, lament, and weep. Let your laughter turn to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do Not Judge Others.[d] Do not slander one another, my brethren. Whoever speaks ill of a brother or passes judgment on a brother speaks ill of the Law and passes judgment on the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not keeping it but passing judgment upon it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to pass judgment on a neighbor?
13 A Warning against Presumption.[e] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall head off to this or that town and spend a year doing business there and making money.” 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is your life, after all? For you are like a mist that appears for a brief time and then vanishes. 15 Instead, what you ought to say is, “If it is the Lord’s will, we shall live to do this or that.” 16 But instead you boast in your arrogance, and all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it commits a sin.
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