³¹ For the Lord your God is a merciful^(A) God; he will not abandon^(B) or destroy^(C) you or forget^(D) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

¹⁶ Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.^(A)

⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate^(A) and gracious God, slow to anger,^(B) abounding in love^(C) and faithfulness,^{(D) 7} maintaining love to thousands,^(E) and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.^(F) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;^(G) he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”^(H)

¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.^(A) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’^(B)

²⁹ “In those days people will no longer say,

³⁰ Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;^(C) whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

The One Who Sins Will Die

18 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

³ “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb^(B) in Israel. ⁴ For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins^(C) is the one who will die.^(D)

¹⁰ “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood^(R) or does any of these other things^{[a] 11} (though the father has done none of them):

Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.^(X)

¹⁴ “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:^(Y)

He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. ¹⁸ But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.

¹⁹ “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.^{(AE) 20} The one who sins is the one who will die.^(AF) The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.^(AG)

²¹ “But if^(AH) a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees^(AI) and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.^{(AJ) 22} None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.^{(AK) 23} Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased^(AL) when they turn from their ways and live?^(AM)

²⁴ “But if a righteous person turns^(AN) from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness^(AO) they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.^(AP)