When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ ¹  and you do not warn ²  the wicked about his behavior, ³  the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁴ 

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?

When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.

When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.

When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” ¹  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, ²  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ³ 

But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. ¹ 

Violence ¹  has grown into a staff that supports wickedness. Not one of them will be left ²  – not from their crowd, not from their wealth, not from their prominence. ³ 

This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life.

“‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, ¹  whose day has come, the time of final punishment,

But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, ¹  and he refuses to change, ²  he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

He ¹  returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, ²  committing no iniquity. He will certainly live – he will not die.

The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer ¹  for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer ²  for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. ³ 

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior ¹  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ²  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’