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1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,

2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?

3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,

6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,

7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;

8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,

9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.

10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,

11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,

12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,

13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

14 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,

15 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,

16 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,

17 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.

18 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.

19 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.

20 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.

21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

The whole passage is a statement against vicarious atonement. The common response will be to bring vicarious atonement from Ezekiel himself by quoting verses like Ezekiel 43:13-27, Ezekiel 44:15-16,27 or Ezekiel 45:17-25. However, these do not help; they are unintentional sin sacrifices for sins committed in the diaspora by chance of circumstance, ex.

• 19 The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple. (Ezekiel 45:19-20)

None of this has anything to do with vicarious atonement in the manner of Ezekiel 18 anyways; it discusses commandments of action to the priests and levites.

In fact, bringing these passages will disprove the Christian's position; see Leviticus 4:

• 4 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally[a] in any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, 3 if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering.

What does this mean, that a priest caused the people to sin, and therefore an offering for unintentional sins? Because, Leviticus 17:8;

8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. 12 Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. Leviticus 17:8-12

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”” Isaiah 30:21

<html><b>And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:</b> <b>What do you mean that you use this parable</b> Asanplanz in Old French, comparison, parable. <b>The fathers have eaten sour grapes</b> Heb. בוֹסֶר, fruit before it has ripened. Verjus in—French, verjuice. <b>and the children’s teeth are set on edge</b> Heb. תִּקְהֶינָה, agazeront in Old French, will be set on edge. So is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He: the fathers sin and the children are punished, for the kings of Israel sinned for many years before they were exiled, and we too need not be concerned that we shall be punished for our iniquities.</html>

<html><b>shall no longer use this parable</b> Heb. מְשֹּׁל, like לִמְשֹּׁל [the infinitive].</html>

<html><b>Behold, all souls are Mine</b> So why should the son who did not sin against Me suffer? Is he not Mine?</html>

<html><b>And does not eat on the mountains</b> “On the mountains, he did not worship pagan deities” [Targum Jonathan] by eating “sacrifices of the dead.” <b>to the idols</b> Referring to other idolatry, e.g., Baal in Samaria and the calves in Bethel and Dan.</html>

<html><b>wrongs</b> Heb. יוֹנֶה, an expression of wronging (אוֹנָאָה) ; i.e., he wronged no man. <b>what has been pledged for a debt he returns</b> If he took his friend’s garment as a pledge for a loan, he would return it to him at sunset.</html>

<html><b>and he commits upon his brother any of these</b> Heb. אָח. Jonathan renders: and he does to his brother any one of these.</html>

<html><b>And he does not do all these</b> All these good deeds that his father did.</html>

<html><b>committed abomination</b> Homosexual relations.</html>

<html><b>and sees and does not do likewise</b> He sees with his heart that it is not good to do so, et il apercut in French, he realized.</html>

<html><b>From the poor he kept his hand back</b> from harming him.</html>

<html><b>All his righteous deeds, etc., shall not be remembered</b> Our Sages qualified this as referring to one who regrets them.</html>

<html><b>is not right</b> Heb. יִתָּכֵן, like יִתָּקֵן, afetes in Old French; just, correct, right.</html>

<html><b>repent and cause others to repent</b> Heb. שּׁוּבוּ וְהָשִּׁיבוּ, you repent and you cause others to repent (tourner, retourner in French), turn [others], return.</html>