But you say,\par ‘God punishes a child\par for his father’s sins.’\par No! Let God punish the evil person himself.\par Then that evil person will know\par he is being punished for his own sins!\par
Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind. Why? Because I, the Lord, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. [125] People who sin against me become my enemies. And I will punish those people. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren.
What gives you the right to hurt my people? What gives you the right to push the faces of the poor people into the dirt?” My Master, the Lord All-Powerful said these things.
I will make the people of Judah\par an example of some terrible thing\par for all the people on earth.\par I will do this to the people of Judah\par because of what Manasseh {\cf2\super [127]} did in Jerusalem.\par Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah.\par Manasseh was a king of Judah.’\par
“Explain this story to the people \{of Israel\}—they always turn against me. Tell them these things: The first eagle is \{Nebuchadnezzar\}, the king of Babylonia. He came to Jerusalem and took away the king and other leaders. He brought them to Babylonia.
“You might ask, ‘Why won’t the son be punished for his father’s sins?’ The reason is that the son was fair and did good things! He very carefully obeyed my laws! So he will live.
Say to the people of Ammon: ‘Listen to the word of the Lord my Master! The Lord my Master says this: You were happy when my holy place was destroyed. You were against the land of Israel when it was polluted. You were against the family of Judah when the people were carried away as prisoners.
Then the Lord my Master said to me, “Son of man, {\cf2\super [291]} these bones are like the whole family of Israel. The people of Israel say, ‘Our bones have dried up, {\cf2\super [292]} our hope is gone. We have been completely destroyed!’
Tell them that the Lord and Master says these things, ‘I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and his friends, the people of Israel. Then I will put that stick with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. In my hand, they will become one stick!’
They will live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. Your ancestors {\cf2\super [297]} lived in that place. And my people will live there. They and their children, and their grandchildren will live there forever. And David my servant will be their leader forever.
\{Don’t ask that.\} You are only people. And people have no right to question God. A clay jar does not question the man that made it. The jar does not say, “Why did you make me like this?”
