if a robber son is born to him, shedding blood, and doing any of these things, (Definition of iniquity).
11 Which he himself did not do at all, and eats sacrificial food on the mountains, and defiles his neighbor’s wife, (Definition of iniquity).
12 He oppresses the poor and the needy, forcibly takes away, does not return the pledge, and turns his eyes to idols, does an abomination (Definition of iniquity).
13 He gives in increase, and takes in excess; then will he live? [No], he won’t be alive. Whoever does all such abominations will surely die, his blood will be on him. (The wrongdoers will be put to death).
14 But if a son is born to someone who, seeing all the sins of his father, which he does, sees and does not do like them: (Definition of the righteous).
15 He does not eat on the mountains of sacrifice, does not turn his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, (Definition of the righteous).
16 and he does not oppress a man, does not take a pledge, and does not forcibly take away, he gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with clothes, (Definition of the righteous).
17 He withholds his hand from [offending] the poor, he does not take any increase or interest, he fulfills my commands and acts according to my commandments, then this one will not die for the iniquity of his father; he will live. (The righteous one remains alive!).
18 But his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did evil among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. (The wrongdoers will be put to death).
19 You say, «Why does the son not bear the guilt of his father?» Because the son acts lawfully and justly, keeps all my statutes and fulfills them; he will live. (The righteous one remains alive!).
20 The soul that sins, it will die; the son will not bear the guilt of the father, and the father will not bear the guilt of the son, the righteousness of the righteous remains with him, and the iniquity of the lawless remains with him. (To the wrongdoer – death, to the righteous – life!).
21 And the wicked, if he turns from all his sins, which he has done, and keeps all my statutes, and acts lawfully and justly, he will live, he will not die. (The wrongdoer can correct himself, then he will be alive).
22 All his transgressions that he has done will not be remembered to him; in his righteousness that he will do, he will live. (The wrongdoer can correct himself, then he will be alive).
23 Do I want the death of the wrongdoer? Says the Lord God. Is it not that he should turn from his ways and be alive? (It is advantageous for manipulative priests not to kill the sinner, but to force him again, with the help of religious tricks, to work for them).
24 And the righteous man, if he turns away from his righteousness and acts unrighteously, will do all the abominations that the wrongdoer does, will he live? all his good deeds, which he did, will not be remembered; for his iniquity, which he does, and for his sins, in which he has sinned, he will die. (Ezekiel introduced a substantially new word in defense of Yahweh. God does not want the sinner to die, he wants him to repent and live, that is, to feed the priests-schemers).
25 But you say, «The way of the LORD is wrong!» Listen, House of Israel! Is my path wrong? aren’t your ways wrong? (A dispute between Jewish priests and ordinary Israelis).
26 If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does iniquity and dies for it, then he dies for his iniquity that he has done. (Iniquity is a deviation from the statutes of Moses, which is unprofitable for the Jewish priesthood).
27 And the wicked, if he turns from his iniquity, which he has done, and does justice and righteousness, he will restore his soul to life. (The main thing for the Jewish priesthood is to inspire the «chosen ones» that, they say, all their sins are from the fact that they stopped feeding Yahweh, in fact, hiding behind the name of God, the Jewish priesthood sought to establish its theocratic power over the Jews).
28 For he has seen and turned from all his transgressions that he has done; he will live, he will not die. (This is beneficial to the Jewish priesthood, the wrongdoer became a lawyer – he began to feed the scheming priests again).
29 But the house of Israel says, «The way of the LORD is wrong!» Are my ways wrong, house of Israel? aren’t your ways wrong? (Ordinary Israelis opposed the theocracy).
30 Therefore, I will judge you, the house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the LORD God; repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that wickedness will not be a stumbling block to you. (This is beneficial to the Jewish priesthood, the wrongdoer became a lawyer – he began to feed the scheming priests again).
31 Cast away from you all your sins with which you have sinned, and create for yourself a new heart and a new spirit; and why should you die, house of Israel? (The vengeful Jewish priesthood put to death its opponents).
32 For I do not want the death of a dying man, says the LORD God; but turn and live! (This is beneficial to the Jewish priesthood, the wrongdoer became a lawyer – he began to feed the scheming priests again).
Chapter 19
1 And you raise a lament about the princes of Israel (If in his early speeches Ezekiel predicted that the new Israel would have a king from the descendants of David, then in these chapters it is no longer said about the king, it is only about the «prince» (Heb. «nasi»). The prince must make sacrifices for the people, take care of the temple and worship, and only for this purpose collect taxes from the people in favor of the temple with animals and other products for sacrifices. So that the «prince» does not crowd the people, he is given his domain in hereditary possession, the income from which he will use).
2 And say, What kind of lioness is your mother? she settled down among the lions, raised her cubs between the young lions. (Comparison with lions).
3 And she nursed one of her cubs; he became a young lion and learned to catch prey, ate people. (Comparison with lions).
4 And the nations heard of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him in chains to the land of Egypt. (Comparison with lions).
5 And when, after waiting, she saw that her hope was gone, then she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion. (Comparison with lions).
6 And when he became a young lion, he began to walk among the lions and learned to catch prey, ate people (Comparison with lions).
7 And he defiled their widows, and laid waste their cities; and the land and all its villages were desolate because of his roaring. (Comparison with lions).
8 Then the nations of the surrounding regions rose up against him and spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit. (Comparison with lions).
9 And they put him in a cage with chains, and took him to the king of Babylon; they took him to a fortress, so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. (The lion symbolizes the «infidel» people of the Jews).
10 Your mother was like a vine planted by the water; she was fruitful and branched from the abundance of water. (Comparison with a vine).
11 And she had strong branches for the sceptres of the rulers, and her trunk rose
