20The person who sins, he alone 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 righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to him alone.
21Moreover, if the wicked one repents of all the sins that he committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, he shall live; he shall not die. 22None of the transgressions he committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness he has practiced, he shall live. 23Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die?—says the Lord GOD. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live.
24So, too, if a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very abominations that the wicked person practiced, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he did shall be remembered; because of the treachery he has practiced and the sins he has committed—because of these, he shall die.
25Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Listen, O House of Israel: Is My way unfair? It is your ways that are unfair! 26When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, he shall die for it; he shall die for the wrong he has done. 27And if a wicked person turns back from the wickedness that he practiced and does what is just and right, such a person shall save his life. 28Because he took heed and turned back from all the transgressions that he committed, he shall live; he shall not die.
29Yet the House of Israel say, “The way of the LORD is unfair.” Are My ways unfair, O House of Israel? It is your ways that are unfair! 30Be assured, O House of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways—declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn back from all your transgressions; let them not be a stumbling block of guilt for you. 31Cast 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. 32For it is not My desire that anyone shall die—declares the Lord GOD. Repent, therefore, and live!
19 And you are to intone a dirge over the princes of Israel, 2and say:
What a lioness was your mother
Among the lions!
Crouching among the great beasts,
She reared her cubs.
3She raised up one of her cubs,
He became a great beast;
He learned to hunt prey—
He devoured men.
4Nations heeded [the call] against him;
He was caught in their snare.
They dragged him off with hooks
To the land of Egypt.
5When she saw herself frustrated,
Her hope defeated,
She took another of her cubs
And set him up as a great beast.
6He stalked among the lions,
He was a great beast;
He learned to hunt prey—
He devoured men.
7He a-ravished their widows,-a
Laid waste their cities;
The land and all in it were appalled
At the sound of his roaring.
8Nations from the countries roundabout
Arrayed themselves against him.
They spread their net over him,
He was caught in their snare.
9With hooks he was put in a cage,
They carried him off to the king of Babylon
And confined him in a fortress,
So that never again should his roar be heard
On the hills of Israel.
10Your mother was like a vine b-in your blood,-b
Planted beside streams,
With luxuriant boughs and branches
Thanks to abundant waters.
11And she had a mighty rodc
Fit for a ruler’s scepter.c
It towered highest d-among the leafy trees,-d
It was conspicuous by its height,
By the abundance of its boughs.
12But plucked up in a fury,
She was hurled to the ground.
The east wind withered her branches,
They broke apart and dried up;
And her mighty rod was consumed by fire.
13Now she is planted in the desert,
In ground that is arid and parched.
14Fire has issued from her twig-laden branch
And has consumed her boughs,
She is left without a mighty rod,
A scepter to rule with.
This is a dirge, and it has become a [familiar] dirge.
20 In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, certain elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat down before me. 2And the word of the LORD came to me:
3O mortal, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them: Thus said the Lord God: Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not respond to your inquiry—declares the Lord GOD.
4a-Arraign, arraign them, O mortal!-a Declare to them the abhorrent deeds of their fathers. 5Say to them: Thus said the Lord God:
On the day that I chose Israel, I b-gave My oath-b to the stock of the House of Jacob; when I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I gave my oath to them. When I said, “I the LORD am your God,” 6that same day I swore to them to take them out of the land of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, a land which I had sought out for them, the fairest of all lands.
7I also said to them: Cast away, every one of you, the detestable things c-that you are drawn to,-c and do not defile yourselves with the fetishes of Egypt—I the LORD am your God. 8But they defied Me and refused to listen to Me. They did not cast away the detestable things they were drawn to, nor did they give up the fetishes of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out My fury upon them, to vent all My anger upon them there, in the land of Egypt. 9But I acted for the sake of My name, that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they were. For it was before their eyes that I had made Myself known to Israeld to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
10I brought them out of the land of Egypt and I led them into the wilderness. 11I gave them My laws and taught them My rules, by the pursuit of which a man shall live. 12Moreover, I gave them My sabbaths to serve as a sign between Me and them, that they might know that it is I the LORD who sanctify them. 13But the House of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not follow My laws and they rejected My rules—by the pursuit of which a man shall live—and they grossly desecrated My sabbaths. Then I thought to pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness and to make an end of them; 14but I acted for the sake of My name, that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whose eyes I had led them out. 15However, I sworeb to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the fairest of all lands, which I had assigned [to them], 16for they had rejected My rules, disobeyed My laws, and desecrated My sabbaths; their hearts followed after their fetishes. 17But I had pity on them and did not destroy them; I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
18I warned their children in the wilderness: Do not follow the practices of your fathers, do not keep their ways, and do not defile yourselves with their fetishes. 19I the LORD am your God: Follow My laws and be careful to observe My rules. 20And hallow My sabbaths, that they may be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I the LORD am your God.
21But the children rebelled against Me: they did not follow My laws and did not faithfully observe My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live; they profaned My sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My fury upon them, to vent all My anger upon them, in the wilderness. 22But I held back My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whose eyes I had led them out. 23However, I sworeb to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the lands, 24because they did not obey My rules, but rejected My laws, profaned My sabbaths, and looked with longing to the fetishes of their fathers. 25Moreover, I gave them laws that were not good and rules by which they could not live: 26When they set aside every first issue of the womb, I defiled them by their very giftse—that I might render them desolate,f that they might know that I am the LORD.
27Now, O mortal,
