¹And the word of the Lord came to me and said, ²“What are you up to, you who quote this saying about the land of Israel, saying,

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

And the sons' teeth are on edge’?

³As I live, says the Lord, the Lord, you certainly will not have occasion to quote this saying any more in Israel.

⁴Look, all individuals are mine.

As the individuality of the father is,

So is the individuality of the son

– They are mine.

The individual who sins will die.

⁵But a man who is just,

And who observes justice and equity,

⁶Who has not eaten on the mountains,

And who has not raised his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,

And who has not defiled his neighbour's wife,

And who has not approached a woman during her menstruation,

⁷And who does not oppress anyone,

Who returns what was given as security for a loan,

Who does not commit robbery,

Who gives his food to the hungry

And covers the naked with clothing,

⁸Who does not lend on interest,

And who does not take a financial return,

Who withdraws his hand from iniquity,

Who practices true justice

Between one man and another,

⁹Who walks in my statutes

And keeps my judicial pronouncements,

By doing what is true

– Such a man is just

And will certainly live,

Says the Lord, the Lord.

¹⁰If a man begets an unruly son

Who sheds blood,

And who does anything resembling any one of these things,

¹¹Although the father himself does not do any of these things,

But the son for his part eats on the mountains

And defiles his neighbour's wife,

¹²Oppresses the poor and needy,

Commits robbery,

Does not return what was given as security

And raises his eyes to the idols,

Commits an abomination,

¹³Lends on interest

And takes a financial return

– Will the son live?

He shall not live;

He has committed all these abominations.

He shall surely be put to death;

His blood will be upon him.

¹⁴But if on the other hand a man begets a son,

And he sees all his father's sins

Which he has committed,

And he is discerning

And does not do anything like them –

¹⁵He does not eat on the mountains,

And he does not raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,

And he does not defile his neighbour's wife,

¹⁶And he does not oppress anyone,

He does not withhold what is taken as security,

He does not commit robbery,

He gives his food to the hungry,

And he covers the naked with clothing,

¹⁷He withdraws his hand from demanding payment from the poor,

He does not take interest and financial return,

He observes my judicial pronouncements,

And he walks in my statutes,

Then he will not die in the iniquity of his father;

The son will certainly live.

¹⁸As for his father,

Since he engaged in oppression

And committed robbery of his brother

And did what is not right among his people,

The result is that he will die in his iniquity.

¹⁹But you will say, ‘Why does the son not bear the iniquity of the father?’ If the son executes justice and righteousness and keeps all my statutes, and he does them, he will surely live. ²⁰The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father will not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will be upon him. ²¹And as for the wicked man, if he turns away from all his sin which he has committed, and he keeps all my statutes, and he observes justice and righteousness, he will certainly live; he shall not die. ²²None of his transgressions which he has committed will be made mention of against him. He will live in his righteousness which he has done. ²³Do I have any pleasure at all in the death of a wicked man? says my Lord the Lord. Is it not rather in him turning away from his ways, so that he lives? ²⁴But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits injustice such as all the abominations which the wicked man does, will he live? None of his righteousness which he did will be made mention of. It is in his perverseness which he has displayed and in his sins by which he has sinned that he will die. ²⁵But you say, ‘The way of the Lord^* is not fair.’ Well, hear, O house of Israel. Is my way not fair? Is it not your ways which are not fair? ²⁶When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and displays perverseness and dies in these things, he will die in his perverseness which he displayed. ²⁷And when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed, and he observes justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life, ²⁸for he has reviewed things and turned away from all his transgressions which he committed. He will certainly live; he shall not die. ²⁹But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord^* is not fair.’ Are my ways not fair, O house of Israel? Are not your ways unfair? ³⁰So I will judge you according to each one's ways, O house of Israel, says the Lord, the Lord. Turn away and withdraw from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be a stumbling block to you. ³¹Cast all your transgressions by which you have transgressed away from you, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, for why should you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I do not take pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord, the Lord. So turn back and live.