Ezekiel 18:16-32

18:16 does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked, 18:17 refrains from wrongdoing, ¹  does not engage in usury or charge interest, carries out my regulations and follows my statutes. He will not die for his father’s iniquity; ²  he will surely live. 18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer ³  for his father’s iniquity?’ When the son does what is just and right, and observes all my statutes and carries them out, he will surely live. 18:20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer ⁴  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ⁵  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ⁶ 

18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held ⁷  against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?

18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die. ⁸ 

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ⁹  is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; ¹⁰  because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered ¹¹  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ¹²  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ¹³  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ¹⁴  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ¹⁵  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ¹⁶  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

[18:17]  ¹ tc This translation follows the LXX. The MT reads “restrains his hand from the poor,” which makes no sense here.

[18:17]  ² tn Or “in his father’s punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 18, 19, 20; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[18:19]  ³ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “lift up, bear.”

[18:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “the righteousness of the righteous one will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be upon him.”

[18:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “remembered.”

[18:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “because of them he will die.”

[18:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he saw.”

[18:30]  ¹² tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ¹³ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ¹⁴ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ¹⁵ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”