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he that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man,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that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed mine ordinances, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the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 18,25 Hes 18,25
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?
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence;Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself:But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
The Rock, his work is perfect;For all his ways are justice:A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,Just and right is he.
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, when he led thee by the way?
And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the {That is, the Nile.}Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of {That is, the Euphrates.}the River?
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
For of old time {Or, thou hast}I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds; and thou saidst, I will not {Another reading is, transgress.}serve; for upon every high hill and under every green tree thou didst bow thyself, playing the harlot.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me?
For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
How canst thou say, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift {Or, young camel}dromedary traversing her ways;
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
And the heavens {Or, declare}shall declare his righteousness;For God is judge himself. [Selah
Wherefore will ye contend with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith Jehovah.
In vain have I smitten your children; they received no {Or, instruction}correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of {Or, darkness of Jah}thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
How trimmest thou thy way to seek love! therefore even the wicked women hast thou taught thy ways.
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor: {Or, I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these}thou didst not find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things.
Yet thou saidst, I am innocent; surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
From thence also shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head: for Jehovah hath rejected those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Jehovah is righteous in all his ways,And gracious in all his works.
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God?
then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
and ye have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that ye hearken not unto me:
therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; {Or, where}for I will show you no favor.
For Job hath said, I am righteous,And God hath taken away my right:
{Or, Should I lie against my right?}Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar; {Hebrew: Mine arrow.}My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
What man is like Job,Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,And walketh with wicked men?
For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothingThat he should {Or, consent with See Psalm 50:18}delight himself with God.
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding:Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness,And from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I {Hebrew: speak of judgements.}reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
Thinkest thou this to be thy right,Or sayest thou, My righteousness is more than God's,
Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; {Hebrew: morning by morning.}every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
Wilt thou even annul my judgment?Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;But now mine eye seeth thee:
Wherefore I {Or, loathe my words}abhor myself,And repent in dust and ashes.
who will render to every man according to his works:
Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?
Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked {Or, in mourning apparel}mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?
and now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and escape.
And when they received it, they murmured against the householder,
saying, These last have spent but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the {Or, hot wind}scorching heat.
But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a {See marginal note on chapter 18:28.}shilling?
Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good?
But if our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who visiteth with wrath? (I speak after the manner of men.)
because {Greek: out of.}by {Or, works of law}the works of the law shall no flesh be {Or, accounted righteous}justified in his sight; for {Or, through law}through the law cometh the knowledge of sin.
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?
For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.