that doeth righteousness and good; 6. He that eateth not upon the mountains, nor lifteth up his eyes unto the idols of the house of Israel, nor defileth his neighbour’s wife, nor lieth with his wife in her sickness; 7. Who hath not wronged any man; who restoreth the pledge of a debtor; who taketh not away aught by force; who giveth bread to the hungry, and clotheeth the naked; 8. He that ususteth not; he that transgresseth not; he that turneth away his hand from iniquity; he that judgeth rightly among men;

He that walketh after my statutes, and keepeth my commandments, to do them earnestly: this is a righteous man; he shall have life, saith the LORD GOD.

But if he beget a son, and he be a murderer, and shed blood, or do any of these things 11. And he hath not done any of the rest, but hath eaten upon the mountains, and hath defiled his neighbour’s wife,

He hath wronged the poor and miserable, he hath taken by violence, he hath not returned the pledge, he hath lifted up his eyes unto idols, that he might commit an abomination, 13. Giveth upon usury, translated, shall he live? He shall not live, but because he hath done all these abominations, he shall die the death; his blood shall be upon him.

And he begetteth a son, which seeth all such sin as his father doeth, and feareth, and doeth no such thing:

Eat not upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes unto the idols of the house of Israel, nor defile his neighbour’s wife,

Damage no man, keep not the pledge, take not by force, divide his bread with the hungry, and clothe the naked;

He that turneth away his hand from iniquity, that taketh not usury, nor extravagance, but keepeth my commandments, and walketh after my statutes: he shall not die for his father’s iniquity, but shall live.

But his father, which hath wrought violence and iniquity, and hath wrought iniquity among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

Then say ye, Why should not a son bear his father’s iniquity? Because he hath done right and well, and kept and done all my statutes, he shall live.

For whatsoever soul sinneth, that soul shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: but the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the unrighteousness of the unrighteous shall be upon him.

But if the wicked turn from all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do right and well, he shall live, and not die.

All his transgressions which he hath committed shall not be remembered; but he shall live for the righteousness that he doeth.

Thinkest thou that I have pleasure in the death of the wicked, saith the LORD GOD, and not rather that he turn from his way, and live?

And if the righteous turn from his righteousness, and do evil, and live in all the abominations which the wicked doeth, shall he live? Yea, all his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but in his transgression and in his sins which he hath done he shall die.

Nor say ye, The LORD dealeth not justly. Hear therefore, ye of the house of Israel, Is it not so, that I am right, and ye are wrong?

For if the righteous turn from his righteousness, and do evil, he must die: but he must die for his wickedness which he hath done.

Again, if the wicked turn from his iniquity which he hath done, and do right and well, he shall keep his soul alive.

Because he hath seen and turned from all his wickedness which he hath done, he shall live, and not die.

Nor say they of the house of Israel, The LORD dealeth not righteously. Shall I be wrong? Ye of the house of Israel are wrong.

Therefore will I judge you, ye of the house of Israel, every man according to his character, saith the LORD GOD. Therefore repent ye of all your transgressions, that ye fall not because of iniquity.

Cast away from you all your transgression, that ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit. For why then wilt thou die, O house of Israel?

For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying, saith the Lord GOD. Therefore repent, and ye shall live.
(Ezekial)
Chapter 19
Lament over the downfall of the kingdom of Judah and her princes.

But thou makest a lamentation for the princes of Israel.

And say, Why doth thy mother the lioness lie among the lionesses, and bring forth her whelps among the young lions?

And she brought up one of them, and it became a young lion; and it was accustomed to devour men and to devour them.

And when the heathen heard it of him, they caught him in their pits, and led him away in chains into the land of Egypt.

And when the mother saw that her hope was lost, because she had hoped long, she took another of her young, and made it a lionling.

And when he walked among the lionesses, he became a young lion; and he was accustomed to
devour men, and to devour them.

He knew their widows, and laid waste their cities, that the land, and all that was therein, was astonished at the voice of his roaring.

Then the heathen from all the countries round about cast a net upon him, and caught him in their pits.

And they cast him bound into a gate, and brought him to the king of Babylon: and they put him away, that his voice should be heard no more in the mountains of Israel.

Thy mother was as a vine, like thee, planted by the waters, and her fruit and her branches grew by the great waters,

And his vines grew so strong, that they were good for a master’s sceptre: and he was high among the vines. And when it was seen that he was so high, and had many vines, 12. He was pulled down to the ground in fury, and was rejected: the east wind withered his fruit, and his strong branches were broken, and withered, and were burned.

But now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land, 14. And a fire is gone out of her strong branches, and devoureth her fruit, that there is no more in her a strong branch to the sceptre of the LORD. This is a pitiful and wretched thing.
(Ezekial)
Chapter 20
Punishment of hypocrisy and ingratitude.

And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat down before me.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

Son of man, tell the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the LORD GOD; Are ye come to ask of me? As I live, I will be unasked of you, saith the LORD GOD.

But if thou wilt punish them, O son of man, so mayest thou punish them. Shew them the abominations of their fathers.

And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD GOD; In the day that I chose Israel I lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt. Yea, I lifted up my hand unto them, and said: I am the LORD your God.

And at that time I lifted up mine hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt unto a land which I had provided for them, flowing with milk and honey, a goodly land above all countries, 7. And said unto them: Cast away every man the abominations that are before his eyes, and defile not yourselves in the idols of Egypt: for I am the LORD your God.

And they disobeyed me, and would not obey me: and none of them cast away the abominations from before his eyes, nor forsook the idols of Egypt. Then thought I to pour out mine anger upon them, and to let all mine wrath pass upon them, even in the land of Egypt.

But I left it for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen among whom they were, and before whom I made myself known unto them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

And when I had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and had brought them into the wilderness,

I gave them my commandments, and taught them my statutes, by which a man liveth that keepeth them.

I also gave them my sabbaths for a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD which sanctifieth them.

But the house of Israel also disobeyed me in the wilderness, and lived not according to my commandments, and despised my statutes, by which a man liveth that keepeth them, and greatly profaned my sabbaths. Then I thought to pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness and even to destroy them.

But I left it for my name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, before whom I had brought it out.

And I lifted up mine hand against them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, which floweth with milk and honey, a goodly land above all
countries,

Because they had despised my statutes, and had not walked in my commandments, and had profaned my sabbaths; for they walked after the idols of their hearts.

But mine eye