Study Desk

The father hurts people and steals things. He never does anything good for my people! He will die because of his own sins.

"You might ask, ‘Why will the son not be punished for his father's sins?' The reason is that the son was fair and did good things. He very carefully obeyed my laws, so he will live.

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.

If good people change and become evil, they must die for the bad things they do.

Why? Because, family of Israel, I will judge each of you only for what you do!" This is what the Lord God said. "So come back to me! Stop committing those crimes and do away with those things that cause you to sin!

Then the people who lived around him set a trap for him, and they caught him in their trap.

One day some of the elders of Israel came to me to ask the Lord for advice. This was on the tenth day of the fifth month of the seventh year of exile. The elders sat down in front of me.

But I felt sorry for them, so I did not destroy them. I did not completely destroy them in the desert.

You are giving the same kind of gifts. You are putting your children in the fire as a gift to your false gods. You are still making yourself filthy with these filthy idols today! Do you really think that I should let you come to me and ask me for advice? I am the Lord God . By my life, I swear that I will not answer your questions or give you advice!

The Lord God says, "People must come to my holy mountain—the high mountain in Israel—to serve me! The whole family of Israel will be on their land; they will be there in their country. There you can come to ask me for advice, and you must come there to bring me your offerings. You must bring the first part of your crops to me there. You must bring all your holy gifts to me in that place.

"Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and speak against their holy places. Speak against the land of Israel for me.

"Son of man, speak to the people for me. Say this, ‘This is what the Lord says: "‘Look, a sword, a sharp sword, and it has been polished.

The sword was made sharp for killing. It was polished to flash like lightning. My son, you ran away from the stick I used to punish you. You refused to be punished with that wooden stick.

"Son of man, clap your hands to show your sadness, and speak to the people for me. Let the sword come down twice, no, three times! This sword is for killing the people. This is the sword for the great killing. This sword will cut into them.

"The signs tell him to take the road on his right, the road leading to Jerusalem, where he will use battering rams. The signs tell him to give the command for his soldiers to begin the killing. They will shout the battle cry and set the battering rams against the gates. They will build a wall of dirt around the city and a dirt road leading up to the walls. They will build wooden towers to attack the city.

"Son of man, speak to the people for me. Say this, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the people of Ammon and their shameful god: "‘Look, a sword! The sword is out of its sheath. It has been polished. The sword is ready to kill. It was polished to flash like lightning!

"‘Your visions are useless. Your magic will not help you. It is only a bunch of lies. The sword is now at the throats of evil men. They will soon be only dead bodies. Their time has come. The time has come for their evil to end.

You will be like fuel for the fire. Your blood will flow deep into the earth—people will never remember you again. I, the Lord , have spoken!'"

You must say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: The city is full of murderers, so her time of punishment will come. She made filthy idols for herself, and those idols made her filthy!

"‘Now look! I will slam my hand down and stop you! I will punish you for cheating and killing people.