Ezekiel 18

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

The word of GOD came to me:

mah-llakhem attem moshelim et-hammashal hazzeh al-admat yisra'el lemor avot yokhelu voser veshinne habbanim tiqhenah

What do you mean by quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, “Parents eat sour grapes and their children’s teeth are blunted”?

khay-ani ne'um adonay Elohim im-yihyeh lakhem od meshol hammashal hazzeh beyisra'el

As I live—declares the Sovereign GOD—this proverb shall no longer be current among you in Israel.

hen kol-hannefashot li hennah kenefesh ha'av ukhenefesh habben li-hennah hannefesh hakhotet hi tamut

Consider, all lives are Mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child are both Mine. Only the person who sins shall die.

ve'ish ki-yihyeh tsaddiq ve'asah mishpat utsedaqah

Thus, if a certain man is righteous and does what is just and right:

el-heharim lo akhal ve'enayw lo nasa el-gillule bet yisra'el ve'et-eshet re'ehu lo timme ve'el-isha niddah lo yiqrav

If he has not eaten on the mountains or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; if he has not defiled another man’s wife or approached a menstruous woman;

ve'ish lo yoneh khavolato khov yashiv gezelah lo yigzol lakhmo lera'ev yitten ve'erom yekhasseh-bbaged

if he has not wronged anyone; if he has returned the debtor’s pledge to him and has taken nothing by robbery; if he has given bread to the hungry and clothed the naked;

banneshekh lo-yitten vetarbit lo yiqqakh me'avel yashiv yado mishpat emet ya'aseh ben ish le'ish

if he has not lent at advance interest or exacted accrued interest; if he has abstained from wrongdoing and executed true justice between one party and the other;

bekhuqqotay yehallekh umishpatay shamar la'asot emet tsaddiq hu khayoh yikhyeh ne'um adonay Elohim

if he has followed My laws and kept My rules and acted honestly—he is righteous. Such a person shall live—declares the Sovereign GOD.

veholid ben-parits shofekh dam ve'asah akh me'akhad me'elleh

Suppose, now, that he has begotten a son who is a ruffian, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things,

vehu et-kol-elleh lo asah ki gam el-heharim akhal ve'et-eshet re'ehu timme

whereas he himself did none of these things. That is, [the son] has eaten on the mountains, has defiled another man’s wife,

ani ve'evyon honah gezelot gazal khavol lo yashiv ve'el-haggillulim nasa enayw to'evah asah

has wronged the poor and the needy, has taken by robbery, has not returned a pledge, has raised his eyes to the fetishes, has committed abomination,

banneshekh natan vetarbit laqakh vakhay lo yikhyeh et kol-hatto'evot ha'elleh asah mot yumat damayw bo yihyeh

has lent at advance interest, or exacted accrued interest—shall he live? He shall not live! If he has committed any of these abominations, he shall die; he has forfeited his life.

vehinneh holid ben vayyar et-kol-khattot aviv asher asah vayyireh velo ya'aseh kahen

Now suppose that he, in turn, has begotten a son who has seen all the sins that his father committed, but has taken heed and has not imitated them:

al-heharim lo akhal ve'enayw lo nasa el-gillule bet yisra'el et-eshet re'ehu lo timme

He has not eaten upon the mountains or raised his eyes to the fetishes of the House of Israel; he has not defiled another man’s wife;

ve'ish lo honah khavol lo khaval ugezelah lo gazal lakhmo lera'ev natan ve'erom kissah-vaged

he has not wronged anyone; he has not seized a pledge or taken anything by robbery; he has given his bread to the hungry and clothed the naked;

me'ani heshiv yado neshekh vetarbit lo laqakh mishpatay asah bekhuqqotay halakh hu lo yamut ba'avon aviv khayoh yikhyeh

he has refrained from oppressing the poor; he has not exacted advance or accrued interest; he has obeyed My rules and followed My laws—he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall live.

aviv ki-ashaq osheq gazal gezel akh va'asher lo-tov asah betokh ammayw vehinneh-met ba'avono

To be sure, his father, because he practiced fraud, robbed his kin, and acted wickedly among his people, did die for his iniquity;

va'amartem maddua lo-nasa habben ba'avon ha'av vehabben mishpat utsedaqah asah et kol-khuqqotay shamar vayya'aseh otam khayoh yikhyeh

and now you ask, “Why has not the son shared the burden of his father’s guilt?” But the son has done what is right and just, and has carefully kept all My laws: he shall live!

hannefesh hakhotet hi tamut ben lo-yissa ba'avon ha'av ve'av lo yissa ba'avon habben tsidqat hatsaddiq alayw tihyeh verishat (rsh) [harasha] alayw tihyeh

Only the person who sins shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent’s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to them alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to them alone.

veharasha ki yashuv mikkol-khattotav asher asah veshamar et-kol-khuqqotay ve'asah mishpat utsedaqah khayoh yikhyeh lo yamut

Moreover, if someone wicked repents of all the sins that were committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, they shall live; they shall not die.

kol-pesha'ayw asher asah lo yizzakheru lo betsidqato asher-asah yikhyeh

None of the transgressions they committed shall be remembered against them; because of the righteousness they have practiced, they shall live.

hekhafots ekhpots mot rasha ne'um adonay Elohim halo beshuvo midderakhayw vekhayah

Is it my desire that the wicked shall die?—says the Sovereign GOD. It is rather that they shall turn back from their ways and live.

uveshuv tsaddiq mitsidqato ve'asah avel kekhol hatto'evot asher-asah harasha ya'aseh vakhay kol-tsidqotav asher-asah lo tizzakharnah bema'alo asher-ma'al uvekhattato asher-khata bam yamut

So, too, if someone righteous turns away from righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very abominations that the wicked person practiced, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they did shall be remembered; because of the treachery they have practiced and the sins they have committed—because of these, they shall die.

va'amartem lo yittakhen derekh adonay shimu-na bet yisra'el hadarki lo yittakhen halo darkhekhem lo yittakhenu

Yet you say, “The Sovereign’s way is unfair.” Listen, O House of Israel: Is My way unfair? It is your ways that are unfair!

beshuv-tsaddiq mitsidqato ve'asah avel umet alehem be'avlo asher-asah yamut

When someone righteous turns away from righteousness and does wrong, they shall die for it; they shall die for the wrong that was done.

uveshuv rasha merishato asher asah vayya'as mishpat utsedaqah hu et-nafsho yekhayyeh

And if someone wicked turns back from the wickedness that is practiced and does what is just and right, they shall save their life.

vayyireh (vyshvv) [vayyashov] mikkol-pesha'ayw asher asah khayo yikhyeh lo yamut

Because they took heed and turned back from all the transgressions that they committed, they shall live; they shall not die.

ve'ameru bet yisra'el lo yittakhen derekh adonay hadderakhay lo yittakhenu bet yisra'el halo darkhekhem lo yittakhen

Yet the House of Israel say, “The Sovereign’s way is unfair.” Are My ways unfair, O House of Israel? It is your ways that are unfair!

lakhen ish kidrakhayw eshpot etkhem bet yisra'el ne'um adonay Elohim shuvu vehashivu mikkol-pishekhem velo-yihyeh lakhem lemikhshol avon

Be assured, O House of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to your own ways—declares the Sovereign GOD. Repent and turn back from all your transgressions; let them not be a stumbling block of guilt for you.

hashlikhu me'alekhem et-kol-pishekhem asher peshatem bam va'asu lakhem lev khadash veruakh khadashah velammah tamutu bet yisra'el

Cast away all the transgressions by which you have offended, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, that you may not die, O House of Israel.

ki lo ekhpots bemot hammet ne'um adonay Elohim vehashivu vikhyu

For it is not My desire that anyone shall die—declares the Sovereign GOD. Repent, therefore, and live!