1 Herrens ord kom til meg igjen, og sa:

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

2 Hvorfor bruker dere dette ordtaket om Israels land: Fedrene spiste sure druer, og barnas tenner er skjære?

Why do you make use of this saying about the land of Israel, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children's teeth are on edge?

3 Så sant jeg lever, sier Herren Gud, skal dere ikke lenger bruke dette ordtaket i Israel.

By my life, says the Lord, you will no longer have this saying in Israel.

4 Se, alle sjeler tilhører meg; både farens sjel og sønnens sjel tilhører meg: den som synder, skal dø.

See, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine: death will be the fate of the sinner's soul.

5 Men hvis en mann er rettferdig, og handler rett og skaper rettferdighet,

But if a man is upright, living rightly and doing righteousness,

6 og ikke spiser offerkjøtt, eller tilber avgudene til Israels hus; hvis han ikke ligger med sin nabos kone, eller nærmer seg en kvinne når hun er uren;

And has not taken flesh with the blood for food, or given worship to the images of the children of Israel; if he has not had connection with his neighbour's wife, or come near to a woman at the time when she is unclean;

7 og ikke gjør noen urett, men gir skyldneren tilbake det som er hans, og ikke tar noe med vold, men gir mat til den som trenger det, og klær til den nakne;

And has done no wrong to any, but has given back to the debtor what is his, and has taken no one's goods by force, and has given food to him who was in need of it, and clothing to him who was without it;

8 og ikke låner ut sine penger med renter eller tar store gevinster, men holder seg borte fra onde gjerninger og opprettholder rettferdighet mellom menneske og menneske,

And has not given his money out at interest or taken great profits, and, turning his hand from evil-doing, has kept faith between man and man,

9 og følger mine bud og holder mine lover: han er rettferdig, han skal leve, sier Herren Gud.

And has been guided by my rules and has kept my laws and done them: he is upright, life will certainly be his, says the Lord.

10 Men hvis han får en sønn som er en tyv, en morder, som gjør noen av disse tingene,

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

11 som spiser offerkjøtt, og ligger med sin nabos kone,

Who has taken flesh with the blood as food, and has had connection with his neighbour's wife,

12 som gjør urett mot den fattige og den trengende, tar eiendom med vold, og ikke gir skyldneren det som er hans, som tilber avguder og gjør avskyelige ting,

Has done wrong to the poor and to him who is in need, and taken property by force, and has not given back to one in his debt what is his, and has given worship to images and has done disgusting things,

13 og låner ut sine penger med renter, tar store gevinster: han skal ikke leve. På grunn av alle disse avskyelige tingene han har gjort, skal han dø; hans blod skal komme over ham selv.

And has given out his money at interest and taken great profits: he will certainly not go on living: he has done all these disgusting things: death will certainly be his fate; his blood will be on him.

14 Men hvis han får en sønn som ser alle farens synder som han har begått, og frykter og ikke gjør det samme:

Now if he has a son who sees all his father's sins which he has done, and in fear does not do the same:

15 som ikke spiser offerkjøtt, eller tilber avguder, og ikke ligger med sin nabos kone,

Who has not taken the flesh with the blood for food, or given worship to the images of the children of Israel, and has not had connection with his neighbour's wife,

16 eller gjør urett mot noen, eller tar noe fra en skyldner, eller tar eiendom med vold, men gir mat til den som trenger det, og klær til den nakne;

Or done wrong to any, or taken anything from one in his debt, or taken goods by force, but has given food to him who was in need of it, and clothing to him who was without it;

17 som avstår fra onde gjerninger og ikke låner ut sine penger med renter eller tar store gevinster, som følger mine bud og handler etter mine regler: han skal ikke dø for farens misgjerninger; han skal leve.

Who has kept his hand from evil-doing and has not taken interest or great profits, who has done my orders and been guided by my rules: he will certainly not be put to death for the evil-doing of his father; life will certainly be his.

18 For sin far, fordi han var brutal, tok eiendom med makt, og gjorde det som ikke er godt blant sitt folk, skal dø på grunn av sin egen ondskap.

As for his father, because he was cruel, took goods by force, and did what is not good among his people, truly, death will overtake him in his evil-doing.

19 Men dere spør, hvorfor blir ikke sønnen straffet for farens synder? Fordi sønnen har gjort det rette og holdt mine lover og utført dem, skal han leve.

But you say, Why does not the son undergo punishment for the evil-doing of the father? When the son has done what is ordered and right, and has kept my rules and done them, life will certainly be his.

20 Den som synder, skal dø: sønnen skal ikke bære farens synd, og faren skal ikke bære sønnens synd; den rettferdiges rettferdighet skal tilregnes ham alene, og den ondes urettferdighet skal tilregnes ham alene.

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.

21 Men hvis den onde vender seg bort fra alle syndene han har gjort, følger mine bud og gjør det som er rett og rettferdig, skal han leve, han skal ikke dø.

But if the evil-doer, turning away from all the sins which he has done, keeps my rules and does what is ordered and right, life will certainly be his; death will not be his fate.

22 Ingen av de syndene han har gjort, skal huskes mot ham; gjennom den rettferdigheten han har gjort, skal han leve.

Not one of the sins which he has done will be kept in memory against him: in the righteousness which he has done he will have life.

23 Har jeg noen glede i den ondes død? sier Herren Gud: gleder jeg meg ikke heller når han vender om fra sin vei, så han kan leve?

Have I any pleasure in the death of the evil-doer? says the Lord: am I not pleased if he is turned from his way so that he may have life?

24 Men når en rettferdig mann vender seg vekk fra sin rettferdighet, og begynner å gjøre ondskap, vil han leve? Ingen av hans gode gjerninger skal huskes; i sin synd og de onde handlingene han har gjort vil han dø.

But when the upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, like all the disgusting things which the evil man does, will he have life? Not one of his upright acts will be kept in memory: in the wrong which he has done and in his sin death will overtake him.

25 Men dere sier, Herrens vei er ikke rettferdig. Lytt nå, Israels barn; er ikke mine veier rettferdige? Er det ikke deres veier som er urimelige?

But you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Give ear, now, O children of Israel; is my way not equal? are not your ways unequal?

26 Når den rettferdige mann vender seg bort fra sin rettferdighet og gjør ondskap, skal han dø; på grunn av de onde handlingene han har gjort, skal han dø.

When the upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, death will overtake him; in the evil which he has done death will overtake him.

27 Og når den onde vender seg bort fra sin ondskap og gjør det som er rett og rettferdig, skal han leve.

Again, when the evil-doer, turning away from the evil he has done, does what is ordered and right, he will have life for his soul.

28 Fordi han har angret og vendt seg bort fra all den ondskapen han har gjort, skal han leve, og ikke dø.

Because he had fear and was turned away from all the wrong which he had done, life will certainly be his, death will not be his fate.

29 Men Israels barn sier, Herrens vei er ikke rettferdig. Er ikke mine veier rettferdige, Israels barn? Er det ikke deres veier som er urimelige?

But still the children of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O children of Israel, are my ways not equal? are not your ways unequal?

30 Derfor vil jeg dømme dere, Israels barn, hver mann etter hans gjerninger, sier Herren Gud. Vend om og vend dere bort fra alle deres synder, så de ikke fører dere til ødeleggelse.

For this cause I will be your judge, O children of Israel, judging every man by his ways, says the Lord. Come back and be turned from all your sins; so that they may not be the cause of your falling into evil.

31 Kast fra dere all den ondskapen dere har gjort, og skaff dere et nytt hjerte og en ny ånd: hvorfor vil dere dø, Israels barn?

Put away all your evil-doing in which you have done sin; and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: why are you desiring death, O children of Israel?

32 For jeg har ingen glede i den som velger døden, sier Herren Gud: vend dere, og lev.

For I have no pleasure in the death of him on whom death comes, says the Lord: be turned back then, and have life.