Ezekiel 18:10

THE MESSAGE

"But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them— eats at the pagan shrines, seduces his neighbor's spouse, bullies the weak, steals, piles up bad debts, admires idols, commits outrageous obscenities, exploits the poor "—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he's done all these vile things, he'll die. And his death will be his own fault.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“But suppose the man has a violent son, who sheds blood and does any of these things,

Hebrew Names Version
If he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who does any one of these things,

King James Version
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,

English Standard Version
"If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things

New American Standard Bible
"However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother

New Century Version
"But suppose this person has a wild son who murders people and who does any of these other things.

Amplified Bible
"If he is the father of a violent son who sheds blood, and who does any of these things to a brother

World English Bible
If he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who does any one of these things,

Geneva Bible (1587)
If he beget a sonne, that is a thiefe, or a sheader of blood, if he do any one of these things,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then he may have a violent son who sheds blood and who does any of these things to a brother

Legacy Standard Bible
"Then he may have a violent son who sheds blood and who does any of these things to a brother

Berean Standard Bible
Now suppose that man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these things,

Contemporary English Version
But suppose this good man has an evil son who is violent and commits sins

Complete Jewish Bible
"Now suppose he is the father of a son who is a robber, a murderer, or who does any of these things to a brother —

Darby Translation
And if he have begotten a son that is violent, a shedder of blood, and that doeth only one of any of these [things],

Easy-to-Read Version
"But someone like that might have a son who does not do any of these good things. The son steals things and kills people.

George Lamsa Translation
If he begets a son who is a wicked man, a shedder of blood, and he does any one of these evil things,

Good News Translation
"Then suppose this man has a son who robs and kills, who does any of these things

Lexham English Bible
"And now he has a son, a violent one, who sheds blood and does any of these things

Literal Translation
And if he fathers a violent son, who sheds blood and does to a brother any of these;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf he now get a sonne, that is a murthurer, a shedder of bloude: yf he do one of these thinges

American Standard Version
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth any one of these things,

Bible in Basic English
If he has a son who is a thief, a taker of life, who does any of these things,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth to a brother any of these things,

King James Version (1611)
If hee beget a sonne that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doth the like to any one of these things,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
If he nowe get a sonne that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and do any one of these thinges:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if he beget a mischievous son, shedding blood and committing sins,

English Revised Version
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth any one of these things,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
That if he gendrith a sone, a theef, shedinge out blood,

Update Bible Version
If he begets a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, and is one who does this type of thing;

Webster's Bible Translation
If he begetteth a son [that is] a robber, a shedder of blood, and [that] doeth the like to [any] one of these [things],

New English Translation
"Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously

New King James Version
"If he begets a son who is a robber Or a shedder of blood, Who does any of these things

New Living Translation
"But suppose that man has a son who grows up to be a robber or murderer and refuses to do what is right.

New Life Bible
"But he may have a son who acts in anger and kills another man, or does any of these other things

New Revised Standard
If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But he hath begotten a son Who is a violent man A shedder of blood,- Who doeth the like of any of these things;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that hath done some one of these things:

Revised Standard Version
"If he begets a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood,

Young's Literal Translation
And -- he hath begotten a son, A burglar -- a shedder of blood, And he hath made a brother of one of these,

Contextual Overview

¹⁰"But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them— eats at the pagan shrines, seduces his neighbor's spouse, bullies the weak, steals, piles up bad debts, admires idols, commits outrageous obscenities, exploits the poor "—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he's done all these vile things, he'll die. And his death will be his own fault. ¹⁴"Now look: Suppose that this child has a child who sees all the sins done by his parent. The child sees them, but doesn't follow in the parent's footsteps— doesn't eat at the pagan shrines, doesn't worship the popular idols of Israel, doesn't seduce his neighbor's spouse, doesn't bully anyone, doesn't refuse to loan money, doesn't steal, doesn't refuse food to the hungry, doesn't refuse to give clothes to the ill-clad, doesn't live by impulse and greed, doesn't exploit the poor. He does what I say; he performs my laws and lives by my statutes. "This person will not die for the sins of the parent; he will live truly and well. But the parent will die for what the parent did, for the sins of— oppressing the weak, robbing brothers and sisters, doing what is dead wrong in the community. "Do you need to ask, ‘So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?' "Isn't it plain? It's because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you're guilty as charged. "But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he'll live, really live. He won't die. I won't keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living? "The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don't keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he'll die. "Do I hear you saying, ‘That's not fair! God's not fair!'? "Listen, Israel. I'm not fair? You're the ones who aren't fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he'll die for it. He'll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he's committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won't die. "And yet Israel keeps on whining, ‘That's not fair! God's not fair.' "I'm not fair, Israel? You're the ones who aren't fair. "The upshot is this, Israel: I'll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won't drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone's death. Decree of God , the Master. "Make a clean break! Live!" ¹⁸Judged According to the Way You Live God 's Message to me: "What do you people mean by going around the country repeating the saying, The parents ate green apples, The children got the stomachache? "As sure as I'm the living God, you're not going to repeat this saying in Israel any longer. Every soul—man, woman, child—belongs to me, parent and child alike. You die for your own sin, not another's. "Imagine a person who lives well, treating others fairly, keeping good relationships— doesn't eat at the pagan shrines, doesn't worship the idols so popular in Israel, doesn't seduce a neighbor's spouse, doesn't indulge in casual sex, doesn't bully anyone, doesn't pile up bad debts, doesn't steal, doesn't refuse food to the hungry, doesn't refuse clothing to the ill-clad, doesn't exploit the poor, doesn't live by impulse and greed, doesn't treat one person better than another, But lives by my statutes and faithfully honors and obeys my laws. This person who lives upright and well shall live a full and true life. Decree of God , the Master. "But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them— eats at the pagan shrines, seduces his neighbor's spouse, bullies the weak, steals, piles up bad debts, admires idols, commits outrageous obscenities, exploits the poor "—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he's done all these vile things, he'll die. And his death will be his own fault. "Now look: Suppose that this child has a child who sees all the sins done by his parent. The child sees them, but doesn't follow in the parent's footsteps— doesn't eat at the pagan shrines, doesn't worship the popular idols of Israel, doesn't seduce his neighbor's spouse, doesn't bully anyone, doesn't refuse to loan money, doesn't steal, doesn't refuse food to the hungry, doesn't refuse to give clothes to the ill-clad, doesn't live by impulse and greed, doesn't exploit the poor. He does what I say; he performs my laws and lives by my statutes. "This person will not die for the sins of the parent; he will live truly and well. But the parent will die for what the parent did, for the sins of— oppressing the weak, robbing brothers and sisters, doing what is dead wrong in the community. ¹⁹"Do you need to ask, ‘So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?' "Isn't it plain? It's because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you're guilty as charged.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that is: Leviticus 19:13, Malachi 3:8, Malachi 3:9, John 18:40

a robber: or, a breaker up of an house, Exodus 22:2

a shedder: Genesis 9:5, Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:12, Numbers 35:31, 1 John 3:12

the like to any one of these things: or, to his brother besides any of these

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 7:9 - steal Ezekiel 18:14 - if he Ezekiel 18:24 - and doeth Ezekiel 33:8 - O wicked

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.

Genesis 18:3
He said, "Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I'll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I'll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path." They said, "Certainly. Go ahead."

Genesis 18:9
The men said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He said, "In the tent."

Genesis 18:13
God said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?' Is anything too hard for God ? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby."

Genesis 18:15
Sarah lied. She said, "I didn't laugh," because she was afraid. But he said, "Yes you did; you laughed."

Genesis 18:16
When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.

Genesis 18:17
Then God said, "Shall I keep back from Abraham what I'm about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I've settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God 's way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him."

Luke 1:13
But the angel reassured him, "Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You're going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He'll achieve great stature with God. "He'll drink neither wine nor beer. He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother's womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God's arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he'll get the people ready for God." Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." But the angel said, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time." Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people. When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn't long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. "So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!" she said. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob's house forever— no end, ever, to his kingdom." Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man." The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. "And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God." And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her. Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, You're so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her. On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John." "But," they said, "no one in your family is named that." They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named. Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God! A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this." Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he came and set his people free. He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives, and in the very house of David his servant, Just as he promised long ago through the preaching of his holy prophets: Deliverance from our enemies and every hateful hand; Mercy to our fathers, as he remembers to do what he said he'd do, What he swore to our father Abraham— a clean rescue from the enemy camp, So we can worship him without a care in the world, made holy before him as long as we live. And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest," will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways, Present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins. Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God's Sunrise will break in upon us, Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace. The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If he beget a son [that is] a robber, a shedder of blood,.... But if this just man beget a son that is a thief and a murderer, as he may; for grace is not conveyed by natural generation, though sin is: a good man has often bad children, even such as are guilty of capital crimes, as a "robber", a "highwayman", a "breaker up", or "through", as the word e signifies; one that breaks through walls, and into houses, and breaks through all the laws of God and man; and sticks not to shed innocent blood in committing his thefts and robberies, as these sins often go together; such an one was Barabbas, whose name signifies the son of a father, and perhaps his father might be a good man:

and [that] doeth the like to [any] one of these [things]; or that does anyone of these things, whether theft or murder.

e פריץ "effractorem", Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Piscator, Grotius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Live ... die - In the writings of Ezekiel there is a development of the meaning of “life” and “death.” In the holy land the sanctions of divine government were in great degree temporal; so that the promise of “life” for “obedience,” the threatening of “death” for “disobedience,” in the Books of Moses, were regarded simply as temporal and national. In their exile this could not continue in its full extent, and the universality of the misfortune necessarily made men look deeper into the words of God. The word “soul” denotes a “person” viewed as an “individual,” possessing the “life” which God breathed into man when he became a “living soul” Genesis 2:7; i. e., it distinguishes “personality” from “nationality,” and this introduces that fresh and higher idea of “life” and “death,” which is not so much “life” and “death” in a future state, as “life” and “death” as equivalent to communion with or separation from God - that idea of life and death which was explained by our Lord in the Gospel of John John 8:0, and by Paul in Romans 8:0.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 18:10. If he beget a son — Who is the reverse of the above righteous character, according to the thirteen articles already specified and explained.