ERV -Ezekiel Chapter 18 to 20

18 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²“You people keep repeating this proverb. Why? You say: The parents ate the sour grapes, but the children got the sour taste. {You think you can sin, and some person in the future will be punished for it.} ³But the Lord my Master says, “By my life, I promise that people in Israel won’t think this proverb is true anymore! ⁴I will treat each person just the same. It won’t matter if that person is the parent or the child. The person that sins is the person that will die! ⁵“If a person is good, then he will live! That good person treats people fairly. ⁶That good person does not go to the mountains and share in foods offered to false gods. He does not pray to those filthy idols in Israel. He does not do the sin of adultery with his neighbor’s wife. He does not have sex with his wife during her period. ⁷That good person does not take advantage of people. If a person borrows money from him, the good man takes the collateral* and gives the other person the money. And when that person pays him back, then the good man gives the collateral back. The good person gives food to hungry people. And he gives clothes to people that need them. ⁸If a person wants to borrow money, the good man lends him the money. And he does not charge interest on that loan. The good man refuses to be crooked. He is always fair with every person. People can trust him. ⁹He obeys my laws. He thinks about my decisions and learns to be fair and dependable. He is a good person, so he will live. ¹⁰“But that good person might have a son that does not do any of those good things. The son might steal things and kill people. ¹¹The son might do any of these bad things. He might go to the mountains and share in foods offered to false gods. That evil son might do the sin of adultery with his neighbor’s wife. ¹²He might mistreat poor, helpless people. He might take advantage of people. He might not give back the collateral* when a person pays his debt. That evil son might pray to those filthy idols and do other terrible things. ¹³A person might need to borrow money from that evil son. The son might lend him the money, but he will force that person to pay interest on that loan. So that evil son won’t live. He did terrible things, so he will be put to death. And he is responsible for his own death. ¹⁴“Now, that evil son might also have a son. But this son might see the bad things his father did, and he might refuse to live like his father. That good son treats people fairly. ¹⁵That good son does not go to the mountains and share in foods offered to false gods. He does not pray to those filthy idols in Israel. He does not do the sin of adultery with his neighbor’s wife. ¹⁶That good son does not take advantage of people. If a person borrows money from him, the good son takes the collateral* and gives the other person the money. And when that person pays him back, then the good son gives the collateral back. The good son gives food to hungry people. And he gives clothes to people that need them. ¹⁷He helps poor people. If a person wants to borrow money, the good son lends him the money. And he does not charge interest on that loan! The good son obeys my laws and follows my laws. That good son will not be put to death for his father’s sins! That good son will live. ¹⁸The father might hurt people and steal things. He might never do anything good for my people! That father will die because of his own sins. {But the son won’t be punished for his father’s sins.} ¹⁹“You might ask, ‘Why won’t the son be punished for his father’s sins?’ The reason is that the son was fair and did good things! He very carefully obeyed my laws! So he will live. ²⁰The person that sins is the person that will be put to death! A son won’t be punished for his father’s sins. And a father won’t be punished for his son’s sins. A good man’s goodness belongs to him alone. And a bad man’s evil belongs to him alone. ²¹“Now, if a bad person changes his life then he will live and not die. That person might stop doing all the bad things he did. He might begin to carefully obey all my laws. He might become fair and good. ²²God won’t remember all the bad things he did. God will remember only his goodness! So that man will live!” ²³The Lord my Master says, “I don’t want bad people to die. I want them to change their lives so they can live! ²⁴“Now, maybe a good man might stop being good. He might change his life and begin to do all the terrible things that bad person had done in the past. (That bad person changed, so he can live!) So if that good person changes and becomes bad, then God won’t remember all the good things that person did. God will remember that that man turned against him and began to sin. So that man will die because of his sin.” ²⁵{God said,} “You people might say, ‘{God} my Master isn’t fair!’ But listen, family of Israel. I am fair. You are the ones who are not fair! ²⁶If a good person changes and becomes evil, then he must die for the bad things he does. ²⁷And if a bad man changes and become good and fair, then he will save his life. He will live! ²⁸That person saw how bad he was and came back to me. He stopped doing the bad things he did in the past. So he will live! He won’t die!” ²⁹The people of Israel said, “That’s not fair! {The Lord} my Master isn’t fair!” {God said,} “I am fair! You are the ones who are not fair! ³⁰Why? Because family of Israel, I will judge each person only for the things that person does!” The Lord my Master said these things. “So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Don’t let those terrible things (idols) cause you to sin! ³¹Throw away all the terrible things (idols) you made—they only cause you to sin! Change your heart and spirit! Why should you bring death to yourselves, people of Israel? ³²I don’t want to kill you! Please come back and live!” The Lord my Master said those things.

collateral Things that a person uses to borrow money. If that person does not pay his debt, then the person he borrowed from can keep those things. It was against Moses’ law to take a person’s clothes as collateral. See Deut. 24:12–13.

19 {God said to me,} “You must sing this sad song about the leaders of Israel. ²“‘Your mother is like a female lion lying there with the male lions. She went to lie down with the young male lions, and had many babies. ³One of her cubs gets up. He has grown to be a strong young lion. He has learned to catch his food. He killed and ate a man. ⁴The people heard him roar. And they caught him in their trap! They put hooks in his mouth, and carried the young lion to Egypt. ⁵“‘The mother lion had hoped that cub would become the leader. But now she lost all hope. So she took another of her cubs. She trained him to be a lion. ⁶He went on hunts with the adult lions. He became a strong young lion. He learned to catch his food. He killed and ate a man. ⁷He attacked the palaces. He destroyed the cities. Every one in that country was too scared to speak when they heard his growl. ⁸Then the people living around him set a trap for him. And they caught him in their trap. ⁹They put hooks on him and locked him up. They had him in their trap. So they took him to the king of Babylon. And now, you can’t hear his roar on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁰“‘Your mother is like a grapevine planted near the water. She had plenty of water, so she grew many strong vines. ¹¹Then she grew large branches. They were like a strong walking stick. They were like a king’s scepter.* The vine grew taller and taller. It had many branches and reached to the clouds. ¹²But the vine was pulled up by the roots, and thrown down to the ground. The hot east wind blew and dried its fruit. The strong branches broke. And they were thrown into the fire. ¹³Now that grapevine is planted in the desert. It is a very dry and thirsty land. ¹⁴A fire started in the large branch and spread to destroy all of its vines and fruit. So there was no strong walking stick. There was no king’s scepter.’* This was a sad song about death, and it was sung as a sad song about death.”

scepter A special stick. Kings and leaders carried scepters to show they were rulers.

20 One day, some of the elders (leaders) of Israel came to me to ask the Lord for advice. This was on the tenth day of the fifth month (August), of the seventh year {of exile}.* The elders (leaders) sat down in front of me. ²Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ³“Son of man,* speak to the elders (leaders) of Israel. Tell them ‘The Lord my Master says these things: Have you men come to ask me advice? If you have, then I won’t give it to you. The Lord my Master said these things.’ ⁴Should you judge them? Will you judge them, Son of man?* You must tell them about the terrible things their fathers have done. ⁵You must tell them, ‘The Lord my Master says these things: On the day I chose Israel, I raised my hand to Jacob’s family and made a promise to them in Egypt. I raised my hand and said: “I am the Lord your God. ⁶On that day, I promised to take you out of Egypt and lead you to the land I was giving to you. That was a good land filled with many good things.* It was the most beautiful of all countries! ⁷“I told the family of Israel to throw away their horrible idols. I told them not to become filthy with those filthy statues from Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” ⁸But they turned against me and refused to listen to me. They did not throw away their horrible idols. They did not leave their filthy statues in Egypt. So I (God) decided to destroy them in Egypt—to let them feel the full force of my anger. ⁹But I did not destroy them. I had already told the people where they were living that I would bring my people out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people. ¹⁰I brought the family of Israel out of Egypt. I led them into the desert. ¹¹Then I gave them my laws. I told them all my rules. If a person obeys those rules, then he will live. ¹²I also told them about all the special days of rest. Those holidays were a special sign between me and them. They showed that I am the Lord and that I was making them special to me. ¹³“‘But the family of Israel turned against me in the desert. They did not follow my laws. They refused to obey my rules. {And they are good rules}—if a person obeys those rules, then he will live. They treated my special days of rest as if they were not important. They worked on those days many, many times. I decided to destroy them in the desert—to let them feel the full force of my anger. ¹⁴But I did not destroy them. The other nations saw me bring Israel out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people. ¹⁵I made another promise to those people in the desert. I promised that I would not bring them into the land I was giving them. That was a good land filled with many good things.* It was the most beautiful of all countries! ¹⁶“‘The people of Israel refused to obey my rules. They did not follow my laws. They treated my days of rest as if they were not important. They did all these things because their hearts belonged to their filthy idols. ¹⁷But I felt sorry for them, so I did not destroy them. I did not completely destroy them in the desert. ¹⁸I spoke to their children. I told them, “Don’t be like your parents. Don’t make yourself filthy with their filthy idols. Don’t follow their laws. Don’t obey their commands. ¹⁹I am the Lord. I am your God. Obey my laws. Keep my commands. Do the things I tell you. ²⁰Show that my days of rest are important to you. Remember, they are a special sign between me and you. I am the Lord. And those holidays show you that I am your God.” ²¹“‘But those children turned against me. They did not obey my laws. They did not keep my commands. They did not do the things I told them. {And those are good laws.} If a person obeys them, then he will live. They treated my special days of rest like they were not important. So I decided to destroy them completely in the desert, to let them feel the full force of my anger. ²²But I stopped myself. The other nations saw me bring Israel out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people. ²³So I made another promise to those people in the desert. I promised to scatter them among the nations, to send them to many different countries. ²⁴“‘The people of Israel did not obey my commands. They refused to obey my laws. They treated my special days of rest like they were not important. And they worshiped the filthy idols of their fathers. ²⁵So I gave them laws that were not good. I gave them commands that would not bring life. ²⁶I let them make themselves filthy with their gifts. They even began to sacrifice their own firstborn children. In this way, I would destroy those people. Then they would know that I am the Lord.’ ²⁷So now, Son of man,* speak to the family of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord my Master says these things: The people of Israel said bad things about me and made evil plans against me. ²⁸But I still brought them to the land I promised to give to them. They saw all the hills and green trees, so they went to all those places to worship. They took their sacrifices and anger offerings* to all those places. They offered their sacrifices that made a sweet smell and they offered their drink offerings at those places. ²⁹I asked the people of Israel why they were going to those high places.* But that high place is still there today.* ’” ³⁰{God said,} “{The people of Israel did all those bad things.} So speak to the family of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord my Master says these things: You people have made yourselves filthy by doing the things your ancestors* did. You have acted like a prostitute.* You have left me to be with the horrible gods your ancestors worshiped. ³¹You are giving the same kind of gifts. You are putting your children in the fire {as a gift to your false gods}. You are still making yourself filthy with those filthy idols today! Do you really think that I should let you come to me and ask me for advice? I am the Lord and Master. By my life I promise, I won’t answer your questions and give you advice! ³²You keep saying you want to be like the other nations. You live like the people in other nations. You serve pieces of wood and stone (idols)!’” ³³The Lord my Master says, “By my life, I promise that I will rule over you as king. But I will raise my powerful arm and punish you. I will show my anger against you! ³⁴I will bring you out of these other nations. I scattered you among these nations. But I will gather you together and bring you back from these countries. But I will raise my powerful arm and punish you. I will show my anger against you! ³⁵I will lead you into a desert {like I did before}. But this will be a place where other nations live. We will stand face to face and I will judge you. ³⁶I will judge you just like I judged your ancestors* in the desert near Egypt.” The Lord my Master said these things. ³⁷“I will judge you guilty and punish you according to the Agreement.* ³⁸I will remove all the people that turned against me and sinned against me. I will remove those people from your homeland. They will never again come to the Land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ³⁹Now, family of Israel, the Lord my Master says these things, “If any person wants to worship his filthy idols, then let him go and worship them. But later, don’t think you will get any advice from me! You will not ruin my name any more! Not when you continue to give your gifts to your filthy idols.” ⁴⁰The Lord my Master says, “People must come to my holy mountain—the high mountain in Israel—to serve me! The whole family of Israel will be on their land—they will be there in their country. That is the place you can come to ask me for advice. And you must come to that place to bring me your offerings. You must bring the first part of your crops to me there in that place. You must bring all your holy gifts to me in that place. ⁴¹Then I will be pleased with the sweet smell of your sacrifices. That will happen when I bring you back. I scattered you among many nations. But I will gather you together and make you my special people again. And all those nations will see it. ⁴²Then you will know that I am the Lord. You will know this when I bring you back to the Land of Israel. That is the land I promised to give to your ancestors.* ⁴³In that country you will remember all the bad things you did that made you filthy. And you will be ashamed. ⁴⁴Family of Israel, you did many bad things. And you should be destroyed because of those bad things. But to protect my good name, I won’t give you the punishment you really deserve. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” The Lord my Master said these things. ⁴⁵Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ⁴⁶“Son of man,* look toward the Negev, the southern part of Judah. Speak against the Negev Forest.* ⁴⁷Say to the Negev Forest, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord my Master said these things: Look, I am ready to start a fire in your forest. The fire will destroy every green tree and every dry tree. The flame that burns won’t be put out. All the land from south to north will be burned by the fire. ⁴⁸Then all people will see that I, the Lord, have started the fire. The fire won’t be put out!’” ⁴⁹Then I (Ezekiel) said, “Oh, Lord my Master! {If I say those things}, then the people will say that I am only telling them stories. {They won’t think that it will really happen!}”

seventh year of exile This was the summer of 591 B.C. Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel. a good land … good things Literally, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” anger offerings The people called these meals “fellowship offerings,” but Ezekiel is making fun and saying that those meals only made God angry. high places Places for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. But that … today Literally, “And its name is still called Bamah (high place) to this day. ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. prostitute A woman paid by men for sexual sin. Sometimes this also means a person that is not faithful to God and stops following him. Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement between God and Israel. Negev Forest God is probably making fun. The Negev is a desert area, there are no forests in the Negev.