Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins, which
he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like. That hath
not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife.
Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither
hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry,
and hath covered the naked with a garment. That hath taken off his
hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath
executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die
for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. As for his
father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by
violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even
he shall die in his iniquity. Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear
the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is
lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them,
he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son
shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him (verses 14-20).
Still another case is considered so that the proverb of the people might
be completely answered and refuted. A wicked father has a son who does
righteously and follows not in the wicked ways of his father. Such was
the case with several Kings of Judah. Ahaz was a wicked man and
Hezekiah, his son, was a God-fearing king; Josiah was also the pious son
of a wicked father. In such a case "the son shall not die for the
iniquity of his father; he shall surely live." The father dies on
account of his own iniquity. This statement was in answer to their
question, "Why does not the son bear the iniquity of the father?" This
foolish reasoning from their side that the son could suffer for the
father's sin was a wicked invention to sustain them in their impenitent
state and in their sins. They claimed no guilt of their own, but charged
their sufferings to the wickedness of the fathers. But we have seen how
perfectly the proverb "the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge," is answered in these paragraphs.