12. “Son of man, tell your people: ‘The good things people did in the past will not save them if they become bad and begin to sin. In the same way the bad things people did in the past will not destroy them if they turn from their evil. So remember, the good things people did in the past will not save them if they begin to sin.’
13. “Maybe I will tell good people that they will live. But maybe those good people will begin to think that the good things they did in the past will save them. So they might begin to do bad things, but I will not remember the good things they did in the past! No, they will die because of the bad things they begin to do.
14. “Or maybe I will tell some evil people that they will die. But they might change their lives, stop sinning, and begin to live right. They might become good and fair.
15. They might give back the things they took when they loaned money. They might pay for the things they stole. They might begin to follow the laws that give life and stop doing bad things. Then they will surely live. They will not die.
16. I will not remember the bad things they did in the past, because now they live right and are fair. So they will live!
17. “But your people say, ‘That’s not fair! The Lord cannot be like that!’ “But they are the people who are not fair! They are the people who must change!
18. If good people stop doing good and begin to sin, they will die because of their sins.
19. And if evil people stop doing wrong and start living right and being fair, they will live.
20. You still say that I am not fair, but I am telling you the truth. Family of Israel, everyone will be judged for what they do!”
21. On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year of exile, a person who had escaped from the battle in Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been taken!”
22. The evening before that person came to me, the power of the Lord came on me. The Lord opened my mouth. So when that person came, I could speak again.
23. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said,
24. “Son of man, there are Israelites who live in the ruined cities in Israel. They are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, and God gave him all this land. Now, we are many people, so surely this land belongs to us! It is our land!’
25. “You must tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood still in it. You look to your idols for help. You murder people, so why should I give you this land?