Ezekiel 18:1-13

The LORD’s word came to me: What do you mean by this proverb of yours about the land of Israel: “When parents eat unripe grapes, the children’s teeth suffer”? As surely as I live, says the LORD God, no longer will you use this proverb in Israel! All lives are mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child belong to me. Only the one who sins will die. People are declared innocent when they act justly and responsibly. They don’t eat on the hills or give their attention to the idols of the house of Israel. They don’t defile the wives of their neighbors or approach menstruating women. They don’t cheat anyone, but fulfill their obligations. They don’t rob others, but give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked. They don’t impose interest or take profit. They refrain from evil and settle cases between people fairly. They follow my regulations, keep my case laws, and act faithfully. Such people are innocent, and they will live, proclaims the LORD God. But suppose one of them has a violent child who sheds blood or does any one of these things, even though his parents didn’t do any of them. He eats on the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, robs others and doesn’t fulfill his obligations, pays attention to the idols and does detestable things, and takes interest and profit. Should he live? He should not. He engaged in all these detestable practices. He will surely die, and his blood will be on him.