18
It is those who sin who will be punished
1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said, 2 “You people quote [RHQ] this proverb and say that it is about Israel:
‘Parents/People eat sour grapes,
but it is their children who have a very sour taste in their mouths',
which means that you think that it is not fair for you to be punished for your ancestors’ sins.
3 But I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that as surely as I am alive, you Israeli people will no longer quote that proverb. 4 Everyone who is alive belongs to me. That includes children and their parents; they all belong to me. And it is those who sin who will die because of their sins.
5 So, suppose there is a righteous person
who always does what is fair and right [DOU].
6 He does not eat meat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops,
he does not request help from idols.
He does not have sex with someone else’s wife
or have sex with a woman during her monthly menstrual period.
7 He does not mistreat/oppress people;
if someone borrows money from him and gives him his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back, he always gives the cloak back to that person before the sun goes down.
He does not rob people.
He gives food to hungry people.
He gives clothing to people who need clothes.
8 When he lends money to people,
he does not do it just to charge big interest.
He does not do [SYN] things that are evil.
He always decides things fairly.
9 He faithfully obeys all [DOU] my laws.
That man is truly righteous;
he will remain alive.
That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, promise.
10 But suppose that man has a son who acts violently, who murders people and does any of these other things, even though his father has not done any of them:
11 He eats meat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops.
He has sex with other people’s wives.
12 He mistreats/oppresses poor and needy people.
He robs people.
If someone gives him his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back,
he never gives the cloak back to him before the sun goes down.
He seeks help from idols.
He does other detestable things.
13 When he lends money, he charges very big interest.
If you think that such a person will be allowed to remain alive [RHQ], you are certainly wrong. Because he has done those detestable things, he will surely be executed, and it will be his own fault [IDM].
14 But suppose that man has a son who sees all the sins that his father commits, but he does not do those things:
15 He does not eat meat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops.
He does not request help from idols.
He does not have sex with other people’s wives.
16 He does not mistreat/oppress people.
If he lends money to someone, he does not require that person to give him his cloak to guarantee that he will pay the money back.
He does not rob anyone.
He gives food to those who need it.
He gives clothes to those who need clothes.
17 He does not commit sins, like his father did,
and does not charge big interest [DOU] when he lends money.
He faithfully obeys all [DOU] my laws.
That person will not be executed for his father’s sins; he will surely remain alive. 18 But his father will be executed for the sins that he committed, because he cheated people and robbed people and did other things that are evil.
19 If you ask, ‘Why should the man’s son not ◄suffer/be punished► for the evil things that his father did?’, I will answer that the son has done what is fair and right [DOU] and has obeyed all my laws, so he will surely remain alive. 20 It is those who sin who will die because of their sins. People will not be punished for the sins of their parents, or for the sins of their children. Good/Righteous people will be rewarded for their being good/righteous, and evil people will be punished for their doing evil.
21 But if a wicked person ◄turns away from/quits► doing all the evil things that he did previously, and if he starts to obey faithfully all my laws, and does what is fair and right [DOU], he will surely remain alive; he will not be executed. 22 He will not be punished for the sins he committed previously. Because of the good/righteous things that he has done since that time, he will be allowed to remain alive. 23 I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I certainly am not [RHQ] happy about wicked people dying. Instead, I am happy when they turn away from their wicked behavior, and because of that, they remain alive.
24 But if a righteous person stops doing righteous things and starts to commit sins and does the same detestable things that wicked people do, he will certainly not [RHQ] be allowed to remain alive. I will not think about the righteous things that he did previously. Because he did not faithfully do what pleases me, and because of all the sins that he has committed, he will be executed.
25 But you say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly!’ You Israeli people, listen to what I say: It is certainly not [RHQ] what I do that is unfair, it is what you continually do that is not fair/right! 26 If a righteous person ◄turns away from/quits► doing what is righteous and commits sins, he will die for committing those sins. 27 But if a wicked person turns away from doing wicked things and does what is just and right [DOU], he will save himself from being executed/punished. 28 Because he has thought about all the evil things that he did and has turned away from doing them, he will surely be allowed to live. He will not be executed for having done evil things. 29 But you Israeli people [MTY] say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly.’ You people of Israel, my behavior is certainly not [RHQ] unfair! It is your behavior that is not right.
30 Therefore, you Israeli people [MTY], I, Yahweh the Lord, will judge each of you according to what you have done. Repent! Turn away from all your wicked behavior! Then you will not be destroyed [PRS] because of your sins. 31 Get rid of all your wicked behavior, and get a new way of thinking [IDM, DOU]. You Israeli people [MTY], ◄do you really want to be executed for your sins?/you act as though you want to be executed for your sins► [RHQ]. 32 I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I am not pleased about your dying. So repent, and remain alive!”