Ezekiel 18; Ezekiel 19; James 4

1 The LORD's word came to me:

2 What do you mean by this proverb of yours about the land of Israel: "When parents eat unripe grapes, the children's teeth suffer"?

3 As surely as I live, says the LORD God, no longer will you use this proverb in Israel!

4 All lives are mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child belong to me. Only the one who sins will die.

5 People are declared innocent when they act justly and responsibly.

6 They don't eat on the hills or give their attention to the idols of the house of Israel. They don't defile the wives of their neighbors or approach menstruating women.

7 They don't cheat anyone, but fulfill their obligations. They don't rob others, but give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked.

8 They don't impose interest or take profit. They refrain from evil and settle cases between people fairly.

9 They follow my regulations, keep my case laws, and act faithfully. Such people are innocent, and they will live, proclaims the LORD God.

10 But suppose one of them has a violent child who sheds blood or does any one of these things,

11 even though his parents didn't do any of them. He eats on the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife,

12 oppresses the poor and needy, robs others and doesn't fulfill his obligations, pays attention to the idols and does detestable things,

13 and takes interest and profit. Should he live? He should not. He engaged in all these detestable practices. He will surely die, and his blood will be on him.

14 But suppose he has a child who sees all the sins that his father committed. He becomes alarmed and doesn't do them.

15 He doesn't eat on the mountains or pay attention to the idols of the house of Israel. He doesn't defile his neighbor's wife.

16 He doesn't cheat anyone, either by seizing collateral for loans or committing robbery. He gives his food to the hungry and clothes to the naked.

17 He refrains from oppressing the poor by taking neither interest nor profit. He observes my case laws and follows my regulations. He won't die because of his father's guilt. He will surely live.

18 As for his father: If he exploited the weak or committed robbery, or did anything else that wasn't good for the people, he will die because of his own guilt.

19 You will say, "Why doesn't the child bear his parent's guilt?" The child has acted justly and responsibly. The child kept all my regulations and observed them. The child will surely live.

20 Only the one who sins will die. A child won't bear a parent's guilt, and a parent won't bear a child's guilt. Those who do right will be declared innocent, and the wicked will be declared guilty.

21 But if the wicked turn away from all the sins that they have committed, keep all my regulations, and act justly and responsibly, they will surely live and not die.

22 None of the sins that they committed will be held against them, but they will live because they do the right things.

23 Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the LORD God. Certainly not! If they change their ways, they will live.

24 If those who do the right thing turn from righteousness and engage in the same detestable practices that the wicked committed, can they do these things and live? None of their righteous deeds will be remembered. They will die because of their treacheries and sins.

25 But you say, "My Lord's way doesn't measure up." Listen, house of Israel, is it my ways that don't measure up? Isn't it your ways that don't measure up?

26 When those who do the right thing turn from their responsible ways and act maliciously, they will die because of it. For their malicious acts they will die.

27 And when the wicked turn from their wicked deeds and act justly and responsibly, they will preserve their lives.

28 When they become alarmed and turn away from all their sins, they will surely live; they won't die.

29 Yet the house of Israel says, "My Lord's way doesn't measure up." Is it my ways that don't measure up? Isn't it your ways that don't measure up, house of Israel?

30 Therefore, I will judge each of you according to your ways, house of Israel. This is what the LORD God says. Turn, turn away from all your sins. Don't let them be sinful obstacles for you.

31 Abandon all of your repeated sins. Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel?

32 I most certainly don't want anyone to die! This is what the LORD God says. Change your ways, and live!

1 You, raise a lament for Israel's princes.

2 Say: What a lioness among lionesses was your mother! She bedded down among the strong young lions and reared her cubs.

3 She singled out one of her cubs and he became a strong young lion; he learned to tear flesh and devour humans.

4 When the nations heard about him, they caught him in their trap and carried him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

5 When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope faded. So she took another of her cubs and set him up as a strong young lion.

6 He went on the prowl with the other lions and became a strong young lion. He learned to tear flesh and devour humans;

7 he ravaged their widows and laid waste to their cities. When the earth and everything in it became horrified by the sound of his raging,

8 the nations from the surrounding regions allied against him. They cast their nets over him and caught him in their trap.

9 They put a collar on him and brought him with hooks. They brought him with nets to the king of Babylon so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted beside the waters;

11 she bore lush fruit and foliage because of the plentiful water, and she produced mighty branches, fit for rulers' scepters. She grew tall, and her crown went up between the clouds. Because of her height and thick growth, she became conspicuous.

12 So she was struck down in anger, thrown down to the ground. The east wind dried her out and destroyed her fruit; it sapped the branch of its strength, and fire consumed it.

13 So now she is planted in the desert, in a parched and thirsty land,

14 and fire has gone out from her branch and consumed her foliage and fruit, leaving her no strong branch or ruler's scepter. This is a lamentation, and it will serve as a lamentation.

1 What is the source of conflict among you? What is the source of your disputes? Don't they come from your cravings that are at war in your own lives?

2 You long for something you don't have, so you commit murder. You are jealous for something you can't get, so you struggle and fight. You don't have because you don't ask.

3 You ask and don't have because you ask with evil intentions, to waste it on your own cravings.

4 You unfaithful people! Don't you know that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?

5 Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn't God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us?

6 But he gives us more grace. This is why it says, God stands against the proud, but favors the humble.

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.

8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter become mourning and your joy become sadness.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11 Brothers and sisters, don't say evil things about each other. Whoever insults or criticizes a brother or sister insults and criticizes the Law. If you find fault with the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge over it.

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, and he is able to save and to destroy. But you who judge your neighbor, who are you?

13 Pay attention, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit."

14 You don't really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes.

15 Here's what you ought to say: "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

16 But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil.

17 It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn't do it.