Ezekiel 18:21-29

God's Way Is Just

²¹ "But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he'll live, really live. He won't die. ²² I won't keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. ²³ Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right - really living? ²⁴ "The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don't keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he'll die. ²⁵ "Do I hear you saying, 'That's not fair! God's not fair!'? ²⁶ If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he'll die for it. He'll die for his own sin. ²⁷ Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. ²⁸ Because he faces up to all the wrongs he's committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won't die. ²⁹ "And yet Israel keeps on whining, 'That's not fair! God's not fair.' "I'm not fair, Israel? You're the ones who aren't fair.