The Soul That Sins Shall Die

181 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 2 " What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel , saying , ' The fathers eat the sour grapes , But the children's teeth are set on edge '? 3 "As I live ," declares the Lord GOD , "you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore . 4 "Behold , all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die . 5 "But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness , 6 and does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel , or defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period - 7 if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge , does not commit robbery , but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing , 8 if he does not lend money on interest or take increase , if he keeps his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between man and man , 9 if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully - he is righteous and will surely live ," declares the Lord GOD .

10 "Then he may have a violent son who sheds blood and who does any e of these things to a brother 11 (though he himself did not do any of these things ), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and defiles his neighbor's wife , 12 oppresses the poor and needy , commits robbery , does not restore a pledge , but lifts up his eyes to the idols and commits abomination , 13 he lends money on interest and takes increase ; will he live ? He will not live ! He has committed all these abominations , he will surely be put to death ; his blood will be on his own head. 14 "Now behold , he has a son who has observed all his father's sins which he committed , and observing does not do likewise . 15 "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel , or defile his neighbor's wife , 16 or oppress anyone , or retain a pledge , or commit robbery , but he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing , 17 he keeps his hand from the poor , does not take interest or increase , but executes My ordinances , and walks in My statutes ; he will not die for his father's iniquity , he will surely live . 18 "As for his father , because he practiced extortion , robbed his brother and did what was not good among his people , behold , he will die for his iniquity . 19 "Yet you say , ' Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity ?' When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live . 20 "The person who sins will die . The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity , nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity ; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

God's Way Is Just

21 "But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness , he shall surely live ; he shall not die . 22 " All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced , he will live . 23 " Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked ," declares the Lord GOD , "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live ? 24 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness , commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does , will he live ? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed ; for them he will die . 25 "Yet you say , ' The way of the Lord is not right .' Hear now , O house of Israel ! Is My way not right ? Is it not your ways that are not right ? 26 "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness , commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die . 27 "Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness , he will save his life . 28 "Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed , he shall surely live ; he shall not die . 29 "But the house of Israel says , 'The way of the Lord is not right .' Are My ways not right , O house of Israel ? Is it not your ways that are not right ?

30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel , each according to his conduct ," declares the Lord GOD . " Repent and turn away from all your transgressions , so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. 31 " Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit ! For why will you die , O house of Israel ? 32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies ," declares the Lord GOD . "Therefore, repent and live ."

A Lamentation for the Princes of Israel

191 "As for you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel 2 and say , 'What was your mother ? A lioness among lions ! She lay down among young lions , She reared her cubs . 3 'When she brought up one of her cubs , He became a lion , And he learned to tear his prey ; He devoured men . 4 'Then nations heard about him; He was captured in their pit , And they brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt . 5 'When she saw , as she waited , That her hope was lost , She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion . 6 'And he walked about among the lions ; He became a young lion , He learned to tear his prey ; He devoured men . 7 'He destroyed their fortified towers And laid waste their cities ; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring . 8 'Then nations set against him On every side from their provinces , And they spread their net over him; He was captured in their pit . 9 ' They put him in a cage with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon ; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would be heard no more On the mountains of Israel .

10 'Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, Planted by the waters ; It was fruitful and full of branches Because of abundant waters . 11 'And it had strong branches fit for scepters of rulers , And its height was raised above e the clouds So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches . 12 'But it was plucked up in fury ; It was cast down to the ground ; And the east wind dried up its fruit . Its strong branch was torn off So that it withered ; The fire consumed it. 13 'And now it is planted in the wilderness , In a dry and thirsty land . 14 'And fire has gone out from its branch ; It has consumed its shoots and fruit , So that there is not in it a strong branch , A scepter to rule .' " This is a lamentation , and has become a lamentation .

Friendship with the World

41 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members ? 2 You lust and do not have ; so you commit murder . You are envious and cannot e obtain ; so you fight and quarrel . You do not have because you do not ask . 3 You ask and do not receive , because you ask with wrong motives , so that you may spend it on your pleasures . 4 You adulteresses , do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God ? Therefore whoever e wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God . 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose : "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? 6 But He gives a greater grace . Therefore it says , " GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD , BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE ." 7 Submit therefore to God . Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands , you sinners ; and purify your hearts , you double-minded . 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep ; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom . 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord , and He will exalt you.

Judging a Brother

11 Do not speak against one another , brethren . He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother , speaks against the law and judges the law ; but if you judge the law , you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge , the One who is able to save and to destroy ; but who are you who judge your neighbor ?

Boast Not of Tomorrow

13 Come now , you who say , " Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city , and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit ." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow . You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away . 15 Instead , you ought to say , " If the Lord wills , we will live and also do this or that." 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance ; all such boasting is evil . 17 Therefore , to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin .