1Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
2“You people quote [RHQ] this proverb and say that it is about Israel:
3But I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that as surely as I am alive, you Israeli people will no longer quote that proverb.
4Everyone who is alive belongs to me. That includes children and their parents; they all belong to me. And it is those who sin who will diebecause of their sins.
5So, suppose there is a righteous person
6He does not eatmeat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops,
7He does not mistreat/oppress people;
8When he lends money to people,
9He faithfully obeys all [DOU] my laws.
10But suppose that man has a son who acts violently, who murders people and does any of these other things, even though his father has not done any of them:
11He eatsmeat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops.
12He mistreats/oppresses poor and needy people.
13When he lends money, he chargesvery big interest.
14But suppose that man has a son who sees all the sins that his father commits, but he does not do those things:
15He does not eatmeat sacrificed to idols on the hilltops.
16He does not mistreat/oppress people.
17He does not commit sins, like his father did,
18But his father will be executed for the sins that he committed, because he cheated people and robbed people and did other things that are evil.
19If you ask, ‘Why should the man’s son not ◄suffer/be punished► for the evil things that his father did?’, I will answer that the son has done what is fair and right [DOU] and has obeyed all my laws, so he will surely remain alive.
20It is those who sin who will diebecause of their sins. People will not be punished for the sins of their parents, or for the sins of their children. Good/Righteous people will be rewarded for their being good/righteous, and evil people will be punished for theirdoing evil.
21But if a wicked person ◄turns away from/quits► doing all the evil things that he did previously, and if he starts to obey faithfully all my laws, and does what is fair and right [DOU], he will surely remain alive; he will not be executed.
22He will not be punished for the sins he committed previously. Because of the good/righteous things that he has done since that time, he willbe allowed to remain alive.
23I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I certainly am not [RHQ] happy about wicked people dying. Instead, I am happy when they turn away from their wicked behavior, andbecause of that, they remain alive.
24But if a righteous person stops doing righteous things and starts to commit sins and does the same detestable things that wicked people do, he will certainly not [RHQ] be allowed to remain alive. I will not think about the righteous things that he did previously. Because he did not faithfullydo what pleases me, and because of all the sins that he has committed, he will be executed.
25But you say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly!’ You Israeli people, listen to what I say: It is certainly not [RHQ] what I do that is unfair, it is what you continually do that is not fair/right!
26If a righteous person ◄turns away from/quits► doing what is righteous and commits sins, he will diefor committing those sins.
27But if a wicked person turns away from doing wicked things and does what is just and right [DOU], he will save himselffrom being executed/punished.
28Because he has thought about all the evil things that he did and has turned away from doing them, he will surelybe allowed to live. He will not be executed for having done evil things.
29But you Israeli people [MTY] say, ‘Yahweh does not act fairly.’ You people of Israel, my behavior is certainly not [RHQ] unfair! It is your behavior that is not right.
30Therefore, you Israeli people [MTY], I, Yahweh the Lord, will judge each of you according to what you have done. Repent! Turn away from all your wicked behavior! Then you will not be destroyed [PRS] because of your sins.
31Get rid of all your wicked behavior, and get a new way of thinking [IDM, DOU]. You Israeli people [MTY], ◄do you really want to be executed for your sins?/you act as though you want to be executed for your sins► [RHQ].
32I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that I am not pleased about your dying. So repent, and remain alive!”