What is it with you, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: The fathers ate the sour grape, and the teeth of the sons are set on edge?
As I live, the utterance of the Lord GOD, you will no longer have occasion to use this proverb in Israel.
See, all the souls are mine: as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son — they are mine. The soul that sins, it will die.
And a man, if he is righteous and does judgment and righteousness —
he has not eaten on the mountains and has not lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor wife and does not draw near to a woman in her impurity,
and he does not wrong a man, he returns the debtor his pledge, he does not seize by robbery, he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,
he does not lend at interest and does not take increase, he turns his hand back from injustice and does true judgment between a man and a man,
he walks in my statutes and keeps my judgments to act in truth — he is righteous; he will surely live, the utterance of the Lord GOD.
And if he fathers a violent son, a shedder of blood, who does any one of these —
though the father himself did none of these — who has eaten on the mountains and defiled his neighbor wife,
has wronged the poor and the needy, has seized by robbery, has not returned a pledge, and has lifted his eyes to the idols and done abomination,
has lent at interest and taken increase — will he live? He will not live. All these abominations he has done; he will surely be put to death, his blood will be on him.
And see, if he fathers a son who sees all his father sins that he did, and sees, and does not do the like —
he has not eaten on the mountains and has not lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, he has not defiled his neighbor wife,
and he has not wronged a man, has not held a pledge, and has not seized by robbery; he has given his bread to the hungry and covered the naked with a garment,
he has turned his hand back from the poor, has not taken interest or increase, has done my judgments and walked in my statutes — he will not die for the iniquity of his father; he will surely live.
His father, because he practiced oppression, seized his brother by robbery and did what is not good among his people — see, he has died in his iniquity.
And you say: Why does the son not bear the iniquity of the father? But the son has done judgment and righteousness, has kept all my statutes and done them; he will surely live.
The soul that sins, it will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be on him.
And the wicked, if he turns from all his sins that he did and keeps all my statutes and does judgment and righteousness, he will surely live; he will not die.
All his transgressions that he did will not be remembered against him; in his righteousness that he did he will live.
Do I at all delight in the death of the wicked, the utterance of the Lord GOD — and not that he turn from his ways and live?
And when the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, and does according to all the abominations the wicked does — will he live? All his righteous acts that he did will not be remembered; in his unfaithfulness by which he was unfaithful and in his sin by which he sinned, in them he will die.
And you say: The way of the Lord is not measured. Hear now, house of Israel: Is my way not measured? Is it not your ways that are not measured?
When a righteous one turns from his righteousness and does injustice and dies for them, for his injustice that he did he dies.
And when a wicked one turns from his wickedness that he did and does judgment and righteousness, he keeps his own soul alive.
And he sees and turns from all his transgressions that he did; he will surely live, he will not die.
And the house of Israel say: The way of the Lord is not measured. Are my ways not measured, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not measured?
Therefore I will judge you, each according to his ways, house of Israel, the utterance of the Lord GOD. Turn back and turn away from all your transgressions, and iniquity will not be a stumbling block to you.
Cast off from you all your transgressions by which you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And why should you die, house of Israel?
For I do not delight in the death of the one who dies, the utterance of the Lord GOD. So turn back and live.
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