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,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father’s sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;
- BSB Now suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, considers them, and does not do likewise:
- NKJV “If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise;
- NASB “Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has seen them and does not do likewise.
- NLT “But suppose that sinful son, in turn, has a son who sees his father’s wickedness and decides against that kind of life.
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
Now a son of the wicked man sees his father's sins, fears God, and refuses to follow them. A person can break free from an evil family pattern.
Overview
The third case is a son who observes his wicked father's sins, takes them as warning, and chooses a different path. The fear of God turns him from the family's evil. This shows the freedom and responsibility each person has to turn to righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- 2 Chr 34:21Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.
- Prov 23:24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
- Hos 7:2And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.
- 1 Pet 1:18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
- 2 Chr 29:3–11He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.
- Isa 44:19And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
- Prov 17:21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
- Jer 44:17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
- Hag 1:7Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
- Ezek 20:18But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
- Luke 15:17–19And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
- Ezek 18:10If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
- Matt 23:32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
- Ezek 18:28Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
- Jer 9:14But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
- Ps 119:59–60I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
- Hag 2:18Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider it.
- Jer 8:6I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
- Hag 1:5Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 18:14 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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