¹¹ Say to them, ‘^(A)As I live!’ declares the Lord ^[a]God, ‘I take ^(B)no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked ^(C)turn from his way and live. ^(D)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?’ ¹² And you, son of man, say to ^[b]your fellow citizens, ‘The ^(E)righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will ^(F)not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live ^[c]by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ ¹³ When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he ^(G)commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die. ¹⁴ But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he ^(H)turns from his sin and practices ^(I)justice and righteousness, ¹⁵ if a wicked person returns a pledge, ^(J)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the ^(K)statutes ^[d]which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ^16 (L)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.

¹⁷ “Yet ^[e]your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. ¹⁸ When the righteous turns from his righteousness and ^(M)commits injustice, then he shall die in ^[f]it. ¹⁹ But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.

^6 (A)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^(B)lie and ^(C)do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we ^(D)walk in the Light as ^(E)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(F)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (G)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^(H)truth is not in us.

^20 (A)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. ²¹ But the one who ^(B)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed ^[a]as having been performed in God.”

¹⁸ And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ^[a]is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared ^(A)all foods ^(B)clean.) ²⁰ And He was saying, “^(C)That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. ²¹ For from within, out of the ^[b]hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, ²² deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, ^[c](D)envy, slander, ^[d]pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”