Old/New Testament
The Outdated Proverb
18 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Why do you cite this proverb when you talk about Israel’s land: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes but it’s their children’s teeth that have become numb.’ 3 As long as I live,” declares the Lord, “you won’t use this proverb about Israel anymore. 4 Look! Every living soul belongs to me—the father’s as well as the son’s.[a] So pay attention! The person who keeps on sinning is going to die.”
Standards of Righteous Behavior
5 “If a person is righteous, and practices what’s lawful and right, 6 if he doesn’t eat at mountain shrines, and doesn’t look to the idols that have been erected in Israel’s house, if he doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her time of menstrual separation, 7 if he doesn’t oppress anyone, but instead returns the debtor’s security for his debt, if he doesn’t rob anyone, but instead shares his food with the hungry and gives clothes to those who are naked, 8 if he doesn’t lend with usury or exact interest, but instead refuses to participate in[b] what is unjust, if he administers true justice between people,[c] 9 if he lives his life[d] consistent with my statutes and keeps my ordinances by practicing what’s true, then he’s righteous and will certainly live,” declares the Lord God.
Standards of Unrighteous Behavior
10 “Now suppose that person produces a son who’s violent, a murderer, and practices any of these things, 11 even though the father[e] hasn’t done any of these things. The son who eats at mountain shrines, defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the afflicted and the poor, robs others, doesn’t return security for a debt, looks to idols, does detestable things, 13 loans with usury, and exacts interest; will he live? He certainly will not! He has done all these detestable practices. He will certainly die, and his guilt will be his own fault.”[f]
Personal Accountability for Sin
14 “Now suppose that he produced a son who practiced all of his father’s sins, but then that son[g] began to fear me and stopped doing all of these things. 15 That is, suppose he doesn’t eat at the mountain shrines, doesn’t look to the idols of Israel’s house, doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 doesn’t oppress anyone, doesn’t take possession of a debtor’s pledge, or doesn’t steal, but instead shares his food with the hungry, gives clothes to those who are naked, 17 doesn’t refuse to help the afflicted, or refuses to loan with usury or exact interest, but instead follows my ordinances and lives his life consistent with my statutes. He won’t die because of his father’s sin, will he? No! He’ll certainly live. 18 As for his father, watch out! If he wrongfully oppressed or robbed his brother and did what wasn’t good among his people, he’ll die because of[h] his own sin.”
The Person who Sins will Die
19 “Yet you keep asking, ‘Why wouldn’t the son bear the punishment of his father’s sin?’ Because the son has done what was lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes and obeyed them, he’s certainly going to live. 20 The soul who sins dies. The son won’t bear the punishment of his father’s sin and the father won’t bear the punishment of his son’s sin. The righteous deeds of that righteous person will be attributed to him, while the wicked deeds of the wicked person will be charged against him. 21 But if the wicked person turns from all his sins, which he did and keeps my statutes, then he’ll live. He won’t die. 22 None of the transgressions that he had committed will be held[i] against him. Because of the righteous deeds that he had done, he’ll live.
23 “I don’t take delight in the death of the wicked, do I?” asks the Lord God. “Shouldn’t I rather delight[j] when he turns from his wicked ways and lives? 24 But when the righteous person abandons his righteous deeds and commits evil, detestable practices, as wicked people do, he won’t live, will he? None of the righteous acts that he had done will be remembered. He’ll die in his treacherous unfaithfulness and sins that he had committed.”
Accusing God of Unrighteousness
25 “Yet you keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t being consistent with his standards.’ Pay attention, you house of Israel: Is my behavior really inconsistent with my standards? Isn’t it your behavior that isn’t just?
26 “When a righteous person turns from his righteous deeds and does evil, he’ll die because of that evil. He’ll die because of his unrighteous acts that he committed. 27 When a wicked person quits[k] his wicked behavior[l] and does what’s just and right, he’ll be enabled to live.[m] 28 Because he reconsidered his transgression and turned away from everything that he had been doing, he’ll certainly live and not die. 29 Yet Israel’s house keeps saying, ‘The Lord isn’t being consistent with his standards.’ Is it my behavior that’s inconsistent with my standards?[n] Is it not your behavior that’s inconsistent with my standards?”[o]
A Command to Repent
30 “Therefore, Israel, I’m going to judge you according to the behavior of each and every one of you,” declares the Lord God. “So repent and turn from all your sins so that sin won’t keep on being a stumbling block for you. 31 Stop your transgressing—the deeds by which you’ve rebelled—and then make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, you house of Israel? 32 I don’t take pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord. “So repent, so you may live!”
A Prophecy against Israel’s Nobles
19 “Now as for you, publish[p] this mourning psalm about Israel’s leaders. 2 Tell them:
‘What a lioness your mother was among lions!
She reared her cubs in the midst of fierce young males.
3 She raised one cub in particular,
teaching that fierce lion to become a hunter-prowler—
to eat human beings.
4 The nations heard about him.
He had become caught in their trap.[q]
They brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When she learned that her plans had been frustrated
and that her hopes were dashed,
she took another of her cubs
and turned him into a fierce lion.
6 He prowled around among the lions,
became a strong, young lion,
and learned to become a hunter-prowler—
to eat human beings.
7 He raped[r] the women,
devastating their towns.
The land was made desolate,
and all the while the land was filled
with the sound of his roaring.
8 The surrounding nations attacked.
They tossed their net over him,
and he was caught in their trap.[s]
9 They imprisoned him in a cage with hooks
and brought him to the king of Babel.
Then they placed him in their dungeon
where his voice would no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
10 ‘Your mother was like a vine
entwining a pomegranate,[t]
planted by water, full of fruit,
and full of branches
because it had been watered generously.
11 Strong were its boughs,
suitable for use in the scepter of a ruler.
It reached to the clouds,
noticeable because of its height
and its abundant branches.
12 Yet in anger it was uprooted
and cast down to the earth.
An east wind desiccated its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered,
and a fire consumed them.
13 Now it is planted in the desert,
in a dry and thirsty land!
14 Fire had burned through its branches,
consuming its shoots and fruits.
No strong branches remain in it,
and there is no scepter to rule!’
“This is a lamentation, and it is to be used in mourning.”
Stop Fighting with Each Other
4 Where do those fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your selfish desires that are at war in your bodies, don’t they? 2 You want something but do not get it, so you commit murder. You covet something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not get things because you do not ask for them! 3 You ask for something but do not get it because you ask for it for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility with God? So whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God[a] caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?[b] 6 But he gives all the more grace. And so he says,
“God opposes the arrogant
but gives grace to the humble.”[c]
7 Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence, and he will exalt you.
Do Not Criticize Each Other
11 Do not criticize each other, brothers. Whoever makes it his habit to criticize his brother or to judge his brother is judging the Law and condemning the Law. But if you condemn the Law, you are not a practicer of the Law but its judge. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge—the one who can save and destroy. So who are you to judge your neighbor?
Do Not Boast about Future Plans
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” 14 You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live—and do this or that.” 16 But you boast about your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, anyone who knows what is right but fails to do it is guilty of sin.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.