Deuteronomy 24 Footnotes

24:16 This verse teaches personal responsibility for one’s own sin and its consequences. This seems to contradict passages elsewhere that suggest that the sins of parents have repercussions for many generations to come (see 2:34; 5:9). There is a difference, however, between the transmission of guilt and accountability on the one hand, and the aftereffects of sin on the other. For example, David’s children were not held responsible for his adultery and murder, but they paid the price as members of the dysfunctional family his sin produced (2Sm 12:10).