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NASB | Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins [is the one that] will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the sin of the father, nor will the father bear the punishment for the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on himself. |
Bible Question:
How should we view this verse in light of Exodus 20:5 which appears to be somewhat opposite? blessings abound, bowler |
Bible Answer: I would ask three questions of myself to guide my decision on how to understand these two passages in relation to one another. 1. What is the difference between "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children" found in Exodus 20:5, and the "bear the punishment for the father's iniquity" in Ezekiel 18:20. Do you beieve that is a different way of saying the same thing? Or do you think perhaps Exodus is referring to the fact that the sins of the fathers have cascading consequences affecting future generations and the Ezekiel is talking about actual moral guilt in God's eyes. 2. In Exodus 20:5 it says "on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me." Who do you think "of those who hate me" is referring to? It could be referring to future generations who hate him. But I find that doubtful to be honest. 3. In Ezekiel God seems to be explicitly explaining how he accounts sin upon people while in Exodus He seems to be more so making a statement about who he is rather than trying to give an explicit account of his book keeping techniques. Because this statement is remarkably similiar to the statement God makes in Exodus 34:6,7 where God reveals himself to Moses in the form of a key statement of his character. A statement that went on to be a central defining description of who he was. I'm not so much giving you an answer but telling you that how I resolved the previous three questions in my head would very likely determine how I personally understand the two passages. Think about it, pray about it and see what you think. |