Study Desk

and refuses to do anything evil or to charge interest. And he obeys all my laws and teachings. Such a man will live. His own father sinned, but this good man will not be put to death for the sins of his father.

It is his father who will die for cheating and robbing and doing evil.

You may wonder why a son isn't punished for the sins of his father. It is because the son does what is right and obeys my laws.

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.

I will judge each of you for what you've done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished.

Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins?

The Lord said: Ezekiel, sing a funeral song for two of Israel's leaders:

His mother waited for him to return. But soon she lost all hope and raised another cub, who also became fierce.

Seven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, some of Israel's leaders came to me on the tenth day of the fifth month. They sat down and asked for a message from the Lord .

But the Israelites rebelled against me in the desert. They refused to obey my laws and teachings, and they treated the Sabbath like any other day. Then in my anger, I decided to destroy the Israelites in the desert once and for all.

Yet, I felt sorry for them and could not let them die in the desert.

by worshiping idols and by sacrificing their own children as offerings. They commit these sins and still think they can ask me for a message. As surely as I am the living Lord God, I will give them no answer.

Go ahead and worship your idols for now, you Israelites, because soon I will no longer let you dishonor me by offering gifts to them. You will have no choice but to obey me!

Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me,

Ezekiel, son of man, mark two roads for the king of Babylonia to follow when he comes with his sword. The roads will begin at the same place, but be sure to put up a signpost where the two roads separate and go in different directions.

You show no respect for my sacred places and treat the Sabbath just like any other day.

I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one.

So in my fierce anger, I will punish the Israelites for what they have done, and they will know that I am furious. I, the Lord , have spoken.

The older one was named Oholah, which stands for Samaria; the younger one was Oholibah, which stands for Jerusalem. They became my wives and gave birth to my children.

Once she started doing these things in Egypt, she never stopped. Men slept with her, and she was always ready for sex.