Eze 3:18-21, Eze 18 | ESV | STEP | If I say to the wicked , You shall surely die , and you give him no warning , nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way , in order to save his life , that wicked person shall die for his iniquity , but his blood I will require at your hand .

18 ^aIf I say to the wicked, ^b‘You shall surely die,’ ^cand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^dshall die for ^{▼▼Or in; also verses 19, 20} his iniquity, ^fbut his blood I will require at your hand. 19 ^gBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^hbut you ⁱwill have delivered your soul. 20 ^jAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^kand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^lBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^mand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ⁿbut his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

Ezekiel 18

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you ^{▼▼The Hebrew for you is plural} mean ^pby repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ^q‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 ^rAs I live, declares the Lord God, ^sthis proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: ^tthe soul who sins shall die.

5 “If a man is righteous and does ^uwhat is just and right— 6 if he ^vdoes not eat upon the mountains or ^wlift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, ^xdoes not defile his neighbor’s wife ^yor approach ^za woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 ^aadoes not oppress anyone, but ^abrestores to the debtor his pledge, ^accommits no robbery, ^adgives his bread to the hungry ^aeand covers the naked with a garment, 8 ^afdoes not lend at interest ^agor take any profit, ^{▼▼That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor; also verses 13, 17 (compare Leviticus 25:36)} withholds his hand from injustice, ^aiexecutes true justice between man and man, 9 ^ajwalks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; ^akhe shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, ^ala shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), ^amwho even eats upon the mountains, ^andefiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, ^aocommits robbery, ^apdoes not restore the pledge, ^aqlifts up his eyes to the idols, ^arcommits abomination, 13 ^aslends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; ^athis blood shall be upon himself.

14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, ^auexacts no pledge, ^avcommits no robbery, ^awbut gives his bread to the hungry ^axand covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew from the poor} takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, ^azand walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; ^bahe shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ^bbbehold, he shall die for his iniquity.

19 “Yet you say, ^bc‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done ^bdwhat is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, ^behe shall surely live. 20 ^bfThe soul who sins shall die. ^bgThe son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. ^bhThe righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, ^biand the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

21 ^bj“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does ^bkwhat is just and right, ^blhe shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 ^bmNone of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 ^bnHave I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 ^boBut when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? ^bpNone of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for ^bqthe treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

25 ^br“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 ^bsWhen a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, ^btwhen a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

30 “Therefore ^buI will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. ^bvRepent and turn from all your transgressions, ^bwlest iniquity be your ruin. ^{▼▼Or lest iniquity be your stumbling block} 31 ^byCast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and ^bzmake yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ^caWhy will you die, O house of Israel? 32 ^cbFor I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; ^ccso turn, and live.”