“ But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:

“他若生一个儿子，见父亲所犯的一切罪便惧怕，不照样去做；

“看哪，他若生了儿子，儿子见父亲所犯的一切罪，他见了，却不照样去做；

“看哪，他若生了儿子，儿子见父亲所犯的一切罪，他见了，却不照样去做；

“倘若这不肖子有一个好儿子，他看见父亲的所作所为，不愿步父亲的后尘。

“他若生一个儿子，这儿子看见他父亲所犯的一切罪，他虽然看见了，却不照样去作：

「他若生一個兒子，見父親所犯的一切罪便懼怕，不照樣去做；

「看哪，他若生了兒子，兒子見父親所犯的一切罪，他見了，卻不照樣去做；

「看哪，他若生了兒子，兒子見父親所犯的一切罪，他見了，卻不照樣去做；

「倘若這不肖子有一個好兒子，他看見父親的所作所為，不願步父親的後塵。

“他若生一個兒子，這兒子看見他父親所犯的一切罪，他雖然看見了，卻不照樣去作：

『但是他若生個兒子，這兒子見他父親所犯的一切罪，便懼怕，不照樣去行；

設斯人生子、見父所犯諸罪、則懼、而不效之、

如此惡人有子、見父作惡、思改其行、

如彼有有原文作生子、見父所作之罪、而自忖思、不效之以行、

“ But suppose this son has a son of his own. And the son sees all the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.

“ Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:

“ But suppose that sinful son, in turn, has a son who sees his father’s wickedness and decides against that kind of life.

“ Now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do likewise.

“ 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.

“ If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise;

Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins, which he hath done, and feareth, and doeth not such like;

“ Now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do likewise.

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,

“ But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example.

“ 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;

“ Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.

but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.

I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying,“ What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says:“ Give careful thought to your ways.

Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

I said to their children in the wilderness,“ Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.

‘ From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought:

No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,“ Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

“ When he came to his senses, he said,‘ How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

This is what the Lord Almighty says:“ Give careful thought to your ways.

“ Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things

We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,

In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them.He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east sideand said:“ Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him.They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes.This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”

I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.”

To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.