The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb {Or, in}concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to a woman in her impurity,
and hath not wronged any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath taken nought by robbery, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
he that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man,
hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept mine ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord Jehovah.
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and {Or, that doeth to a brother any of these}that doeth any one of these things,
and that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife,
hath wronged the poor and needy, hath taken by robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely {Hebrew: he put to death.}die; his blood shall be upon him.
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins, which he hath done, and {Another reading is, seeth Or, considereth.}feareth, and doeth not such like;
that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's wife,
neither hath wronged any, hath not taken aught to pledge, neither hath taken by robbery, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed mine ordinances, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die {Or, for}in his iniquity.
Yet say ye, Wherefore doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, {Or, he shall die}and dieth {Or, because of it}therein; {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; {Or, so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you}so iniquity shall not be your {Hebrew: stumblingblock.}ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.
Querverweise zu Hesekiel 18,8 Hes 18,8
hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely {Hebrew: he put to death.}die; his blood shall be upon him.
I was also perfect toward him;And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed mine ordinances, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
But the former governors that were before me {Or, laid burdens upon}were chargeable unto the people, and took of them bread and wine, {Or, at the rate of Or, afterward}besides forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants {Or, lorded over}bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of {Or, fraud}oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner that is with him.
If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.
And if thy brother be waxed poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt {Or, relieve}uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee.
Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
{Hebrew: Justice, justice.} That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest.
When I went forth to the gate unto the city,When I prepared my seat in the {Or, broad place}street,
The young men saw me and hid themselves,And the aged rose up and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,And laid their hand on their mouth;
The voice of the nobels was {Hebrew: hid.}hushed,And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it {Or, clothed itself with me}clothed me:My justice was as a robe and a {Or, turban.}diadem.
I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the needy:And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And I brake the {Hebrew: great teeth.}jaws of the unrighteous,And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.
Open thy mouth for the dumb,In the cause of all such as are {Or, ready to pass away Hebrew; the sons of passing away.}left desolate.
Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live.
Some also there were that said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses: let us get grain, because of the dearth.
There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and our vineyards.
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already: neither is it in our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our vineyards.
And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the {Or, deputies}rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them.
And I said unto them, We after our ability have {Hebrew: bought.}redeemed our brethren the Jews, that were sold unto the nations; and would ye even sell your brethren, and should they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found never a word.
Also I said, The thing that ye do is not good: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?
And I likewise, my brethren and my servants, do lend them money and grain. I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,And minister justice to the poor and needy.
{Or, He putteth}He that putteth not out his money to interest,Nor taketh reward against the innocent.He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
learn to do well; seek justice, {Or, set right the oppressor}relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase,Gathereth it for him that hath pity on the poor.
Shalt thou reign, because thou {Or, viest with the cedar}strivest to excel in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet every one of them doth curse me.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah.
Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.
These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbor; {Hebrew: judge truth and the judgment of peace.}execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;