“Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
Parallel translations
- WEB The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
- KJV The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
- BSB Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
- NKJV “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
- NASB “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin alone.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
No one is to be executed for another's crime; each person bears the death penalty only for his own sin. Justice is individual and personal, not inherited.
Overview
This establishes individual responsibility in Israel's courts, preventing the punishment of children for parents' guilt or vice versa. The prophets later affirm this principle of personal accountability for sin (Ezekiel 18:20). It magnifies the wonder of the gospel, where the sinless Christ willingly bears the guilt of others, the one true and gracious exception that secures our salvation (1 Peter 3:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezek 18:20The soul who sins, he 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 on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.
- 2 Chr 25:4But he didn’t put their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as Yahweh commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”
- Jer 31:29–30“In those days they shall say no more, “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
- 2 Kgs 14:5–6As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father,
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 24:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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