11. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ declares the Lord Yahweh, ‘Surely I have no delight in the death of the wicked, except in the wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil ones, for why should you die, house of Israel?’
12. “So you, son of man, say to your people that the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked will not cause him to stumble on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and the righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin.
13. When I say to the righteous, ‘Certainly he will live,’ and he trusted in his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die.
14. And when I say to the wicked, ‘Certainly you will die,’ but he returns from his sin and he does justice and righteousness—
15. for example, the wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores stolen property, he goes in the statutes of life so as not to do injustice—certainly he will live; he will not die.
16. All of his sins that he committed, they will not be remembered against him, and he did justice and righteousness; certainly he will live.
17. “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ yet their way is not fair.
18. When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die because of it.
19. And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and he does justice and righteousness, because of it he will certainly live!
20. Yet you said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ I will judge you, house of Israel, each person according to his ways.”
21. And then it was in the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month of our exile, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city was destroyed!”
22. And the hand of Yahweh was on me on the evening before the coming of the survivor, and he opened my mouth before the survivor came to me in the morning, and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer dumb.
23. And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
24. “Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was one man, and he took possession of the land, and we are many; the land has been given for us as a possession.’
25. Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You eat blood in your meat, and you raise your eyes to your idols and you pour out blood, and yet you want to take possession of the land?
26. You rely on your sword, you do a detestable thing, and each man defiles the wife of his neighbor, and yet you want to take possession of the land?” ’