Ezekiel 18:20

New King James Version

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.

Hebrew Names Version
The soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

King James Version
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

English Standard Version
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

New American Standard Bible
"The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father's guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son's guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

New Century Version
The person who sins is the one who will die. A child will not be punished for a parent's sin, and a parent will not be punished for a child's sin. Those who do right will enjoy the results of their own goodness; evil people will suffer the results of their own evil.

Amplified Bible
"The person who sins [is the one that] will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the sin of the father, nor will the father bear the punishment for the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on himself.

World English Bible
The soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The same soule that sinneth, shal die: the sonne shall not beare the iniquitie of the father, neither shall the father beare the iniquitie of the sonne, but the righteousnes of the righteous shall be vpon him, and the wickednesse of the wicked shall be vpon him selfe.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

Legacy Standard Bible
The soul who sins will die. The son will not bear the iniquity of the father, nor will the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

Berean Standard Bible
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

Contemporary English Version
Only those who sin will be put to death. Children won't suffer for the sins of their parents, and parents won't suffer for the sins of their children. Good people will be rewarded for what they do, and evil people will be punished for what they do.

Complete Jewish Bible
The person who sins is the one that will die — a son is not to bear his father's guilt with him, nor is the father to bear his son's guilt with him; but the righteousness of the righteous will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked will be his own.

Darby Translation
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Easy-to-Read Version
The one who sins is the one who will be put to death. A son will not be punished for his father's sins, and a father will not 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.

George Lamsa Translation
The soul that sins, that soul shall die. The son shall not bear the sins of his father, neither shall the father bear the sins of his son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Good News Translation
It is the one who sins who will die. A son is not to suffer because of his father's sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son. Good people will be rewarded for doing good, and evil people will suffer for the evil they do.

Lexham English Bible
The person, the one sinning, will die. A son shall not bear the guilt of the father, and a father shall not bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him; the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

Literal Translation
The soul that sins, it shall die. A son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. And a father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The same soule yt synneth, shall dye. The sonne shal not beare the fathers offence, nenether shal the father beare the sonnes offence. The rightuousnes of the rightuous shall be vpon himself, and the wickednes of the wicked shal be vpon him self also.

American Standard Version
The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Bible in Basic English
The soul which does sin will be put to death: the son will not be made responsible for the evil-doing of the father, or the father for the evil-doing of the son; the righteousness of the upright will be on himself, and the evil-doing of the evil-doer on himself.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
The soul that sinneth, it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father with him, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son with him; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

King James Version (1611)
The soule that sinneth, it shal die: the sonne shall not beare the iniquitie of the father, neither shal the father beare the iniquitie of the sonne; the righteousnesse of the righteous shall bee vpon him, and the wickednesse of the wicked shalbe vpon him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The same soule that sinneth shall dye, the sonne shall not beare the fathers iniquitie, neither shall the father beare the sonnes iniquitie: the righteousnesse of the righteous shalbe vpon hym, and the wickednesse of the wicked shalbe vpon him selfe also.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But the soul that sins shall die: and the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the iniquity of the transgressor shall be upon him.

English Revised Version
The soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thilke soule that doith synne, schal die; the sone schal not bere the wickidnesse of the fadir, and the fadir schal not bere the wickednesse of the sone; the riytfulnesse of a iust man schal be on hym, and the wickidnesse of a wickid man schal be on hym.

Update Bible Version
The soul that sins, it shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

Webster's Bible Translation
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

New English Translation
The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer for his father's iniquity, and a father will not suffer for his son's iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness.

New Living Translation
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.

New Life Bible
The person who sins will die. The son will not be punished for the father's sin. And the father will not be punished for the son's sin. The right and good man will receive good, and the sinful man will suffer for his sin.

New Revised Standard
The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The person that sinneth, the same, shall die, - the son shall not bear a part of the iniquity of, the father, neither shall a father bear a part of the iniquity of the son, the righteousness of the righteous upon himself, shall be. And the lawlessness of a lawless man upon himself, shall be.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The soul that sinneth, the same shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son: the justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Revised Standard Version
The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Young's Literal Translation
The soul that doth sin -- it doth die. A son doth not bear of the iniquity of the father, And a father doth not bear of the iniquity of the son, The righteousness of the righteous is on him, And the wickedness of the wicked is on him.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ "If he begets a son who is a robber Or a shedder of blood, Who does any of these things ¹¹ And does none of those duties, But has eaten on the mountains Or defiled his neighbor's wife; ¹² If he has oppressed the poor and needy, Robbed by violence, Not restored the pledge, Lifted his eyes to the idols, Or committed abomination; ¹³ If he has exacted usury Or taken increase-- Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him. ¹⁴ "If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise; ¹⁵ Who has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor's wife; ¹⁶ Has not oppressed anyone, Nor withheld a pledge, Nor robbed by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing; ¹⁷ Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor Ezekiel 18:8). ">[fn] And not received usury or increase,But has executed My judgmentsAnd walked in My statutes--He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;He shall surely live! ¹⁸ "As for his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did what is not good among his people, Behold, he shall die for his iniquity. ¹⁹ "Yet you say, "Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

soul that: Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:13, Deuteronomy 24:16, 1 Kings 14:13, 2 Kings 14:6, 2 Kings 22:18-20, 2 Chronicles 25:4, Jeremiah 31:29, Jeremiah 31:30

bear: Ezekiel 4:4, Leviticus 5:1, Leviticus 5:17, Leviticus 10:17, Leviticus 16:22, Leviticus 19:8, Numbers 18:1, Isaiah 53:11, Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 2:24

righteousness: Ezekiel 18:30, Ezekiel 33:10, 1 Kings 8:32, 2 Chronicles 6:23, 2 Chronicles 6:30, Isaiah 3:10, Isaiah 3:11, Matthew 16:27, Romans 2:6-9, Revelation 2:23, Revelation 20:12, Revelation 22:12-15

Reciprocal: Leviticus 7:18 - bear Numbers 15:31 - his iniquity 2 Chronicles 33:15 - he took Job 21:19 - for his Proverbs 9:12 - General Proverbs 12:28 - General Ezekiel 3:18 - I say Ezekiel 14:20 - by Ezekiel 18:17 - he shall not Ezekiel 18:18 - even Ezekiel 32:27 - but Ezekiel 33:6 - he is Ezekiel 33:8 - O wicked Romans 6:23 - For the wages

Cross-References

Genesis 4:10
And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

Genesis 19:13
For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

Isaiah 3:9
The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.

Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Jeremiah 14:7
O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name's sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You.

James 5:4
Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. [fn]

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The soul that sinneth, it shall die,.... This is repeated from Ezekiel 18:4, for the further confirmation of it:

the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; that is, as the Targum paraphrases it,

"the son shall not be punished for the sins of the father, nor shall the father be punished for the sins of the son.''

This is to be understood of adult persons, and of actual sins; for of such only the prophet speaks throughout the whole chapter, or of temporal, and not of eternal punishment:

the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him; he shall be rewarded with temporal good things in this life, according to his righteousness; which, as the Targum says, shall "remain" upon him; see

Psalms 112:9; he shall eat of the fruit of his own doings, Isaiah 3:10; this is true of a man that is evangelically righteous, or is so through the imputation of Christ's righteousness to him; which is upon him as a robe to clothe him, and will always remain on him, being an everlasting righteousness, and will answer for him in a time to come:

and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him; and not another; his sin shall remain on him unatoned for, unexpiated, not taken away or forgiven; the punishment of it shall be on him, and abide upon him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 18:20. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. — Hitherto we have had to do with the simple cases of the righteous and the wicked; of him who lived and died a holy man, and of him who lived and died a wicked man. But there are two cases behind:

1. That of the wicked man, who repents and turns to God.

2. That of the righteous man, who backslides, and does not return to God by repentance. On both these cases God decides thus:-