Ezekiel 18

The Justice of a Righteous God
 ¹  Then another message came to me from the LORD:  ²  "Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: `The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children's mouths pucker at the taste'?  <sup>3</sup>  As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel.  <sup>4</sup>  For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.
   <sup>5</sup>  "Suppose a certain man is righteous and does what is just and right.  <sup>6</sup>  He does not feast in the mountains before Israel's idols [6]  or worship them. He does not commit adultery or have intercourse with a woman during her menstrual period.  <sup>7</sup>  He is a merciful creditor, not keeping the items given as security by poor debtors. He does not rob the poor but instead gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.  <sup>8</sup>  He grants loans without interest, stays away from injustice, is honest and fair when judging others,  <sup>9</sup>  and faithfully obeys my decrees and regulations. Anyone who does these things is just and will surely live, says the Sovereign LORD.
   <sup>10</sup>  "But suppose that man has a son who grows up to be a robber or murderer and refuses to do what is right.  <sup>11</sup>  And that son does all the evil things his father would never do—he worships idols on the mountains, commits adultery,  <sup>12</sup>  oppresses the poor and helpless, steals from debtors by refusing to let them redeem their security, worships idols, commits detestable sins,  <sup>13</sup>  and lends money at excessive interest. Should such a sinful person live? No! He must die and must take full blame.
   <sup>14</sup>  "But suppose that sinful son, in turn, has a son who sees his father's wickedness and decides against that kind of life.  <sup>15</sup>  This son refuses to worship idols on the mountains and does not commit adultery.  <sup>16</sup>  He does not exploit the poor, but instead is fair to debtors and does not rob them. He gives food to the hungry and provides clothes for the needy.  <sup>17</sup>  He helps the poor, [17]  does not lend money at interest, and obeys all my regulations and decrees. Such a person will not die because of his father's sins; he will surely live.  <sup>18</sup>  But the father will die for his many sins—for being cruel, robbing people, and doing what was clearly wrong among his people.
   <sup>19</sup>  "`What?' you ask. `Doesn't the child pay for the parent's sins?' No! For if the child does what is just and right and keeps my decrees, that child will surely live.  <sup>20</sup>  The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent's sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child's sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.  <sup>21</sup>  But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.  <sup>22</sup>  All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done.
   <sup>23</sup>  "Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.  <sup>24</sup>  However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
   <sup>25</sup>  "Yet you say, `The Lord isn't doing what's right!' Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what's right, or is it you?  ²⁶  When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds.  ²⁷  And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives.  ²⁸  They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die.  ²⁹  And yet the people of Israel keep saying, `The Lord isn't doing what's right!' O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what's right, not I.
   ³⁰  "Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don't let them destroy you!  ³¹  Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?  ³²  I don't want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!

Ezekiel 19

A Funeral Song for Israel's Kings
 ¹  "Sing this funeral song for the princes of Israel:

 ²  "What is your mother?
  A lioness among lions!
She lay down among the young lions
  and reared her cubs.
 ³  She raised one of her cubs
  to become a strong young lion.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
  and he became a man-eater.
 ⁴  Then the nations heard about him,
  and he was trapped in their pit.
They led him away with hooks
  to the land of Egypt.

 ⁵  "When the lioness saw
  that her hopes for him were gone,
she took another of her cubs
  and taught him to be a strong young lion.
 ⁶  He prowled among the other lions
  and stood out among them in his strength.
He learned to hunt and devour prey,
  and he, too, became a man-eater.
 ⁷  He demolished fortresses [7] 
  and destroyed their towns and cities.
Their farms were desolated,
  and their crops were destroyed.
The land and its people trembled in fear
  when they heard him roar.
 ⁸  Then the armies of the nations attacked him,
  surrounding him from every direction.
They threw a net over him
  and captured him in their pit.
 ⁹  With hooks, they dragged him into a cage
  and brought him before the king of Babylon.
They held him in captivity,
  so his voice could never again be heard
  on the mountains of Israel.

 ¹⁰  "Your mother was like a vine
  planted by the water's edge.
It had lush, green foliage
  because of the abundant water.
 ¹¹  Its branches became strong—
  strong enough to be a ruler's scepter.
It grew very tall,
  towering above all others.
It stood out because of its height
  and its many lush branches.
 ¹²  But the vine was uprooted in fury
  and thrown down to the ground.
The desert wind dried up its fruit
  and tore off its strong branches,
so that it withered
  and was destroyed by fire.
 ¹³  Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness,
  where the ground is hard and dry.
 ¹⁴  A fire has burst out from its branches
  and devoured its fruit.
Its remaining limbs are not
  strong enough to be a ruler's scepter.

"This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral."

<<  18:6 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 18:12, 15.
<<  18:17 Greek version reads He refuses to do evil.
<<  19:7 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads He knew widows.

James 4

Drawing Close to God
 ¹  What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you?  ²  You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it.  ³  And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
   ⁴  You adulterers! [4]  Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.  ⁵  What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? [5]   ⁶  But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

"God opposes the proud
  but favors the humble." [6] 

   ⁷  So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  ⁸  Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.  ⁹  Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.  ¹⁰  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. Warning against Judging Others
 ¹¹  Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. [11]  If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.  ¹²  God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Warning about Self-Confidence
 ¹³  Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit."  ¹⁴  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone.  ¹⁵  What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."  ¹⁶  Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
   ¹⁷  "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

<<  4:4 Greek You adulteresses!
<<  4:5 Or that God longs jealously for the human spirit he has placed within us? or that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, opposes our envy?
<<  4:6 Prov 3:34 (Greek version).
<<  4:11 Greek brothers.