18. His father, on the other hand, cheated and robbed, and always did evil to everyone. And so he died because of the sins he himself had committed.
19. “But you ask, ‘Why shouldn't the son suffer because of his father's sins?’ The answer is that the son did what was right and good. He kept my laws and followed them carefully, and so he will certainly live.
20. 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. A good person will be rewarded for doing good, and an evil person will suffer for the evil he does.
21. “If an evil person stops sinning and keeps my laws, if he does what is right and good, he will not die; he will certainly live.
22. All his sins will be forgiven, and he will live, because he did what is right.
23. Do you think I enjoy seeing an evil person die?” asks the Sovereign Lord. “No, I would rather see him repent and live.