Ezekiel 18:4-17
New King James Version
4 “Behold, all souls are (A)Mine;
The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine;
(B)The soul who sins shall die.
5 But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
6 (C)If he has not eaten [a]on the mountains,
Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor (D)defiled his neighbor’s wife,
Nor approached (E)a woman during her impurity;
7 If he has not (F)oppressed anyone,
But has restored to the debtor his (G)pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence,
But has (H)given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with (I)clothing;
8 If he has not [b]exacted (J)usury
Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And (K)executed true [c]judgment between man and man;
9 If he has walked in My statutes
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely (L)live!”
Says the Lord God.
10 “If he begets a son who is a robber
Or (M)a shedder of blood,
Who does any of these things
11 And does none of those duties,
But has eaten [d]on the mountains
Or defiled his neighbor’s wife;
12 If he has oppressed the poor and needy,
Robbed by violence,
Not restored the pledge,
Lifted his eyes to the idols,
Or (N)committed abomination;
13 If he has exacted usury
Or taken increase—
Shall he then live?
He shall not live!
If he has done any of these abominations,
He shall surely die;
(O)His blood shall be upon him.
14 “If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;
15 (P)Who has not eaten [e]on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
16 Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
17 Who has withdrawn his hand from [f]the poor
And not received usury or increase,
But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes—
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 18:6 At the mountain shrines
- Ezekiel 18:8 Lent money at interest
- Ezekiel 18:8 justice
- Ezekiel 18:11 At the mountain shrines
- Ezekiel 18:15 At the mountain shrines
- Ezekiel 18:17 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX iniquity (cf. v. 8)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.