God Hates the Death of the Wicked

¹⁰ “‘Now, Son of Man, tell this to the house of Israel:

‘You keep saying, “Our crimes and sins burden us so much that we’re rotting away, so how can we keep on living?”’

¹¹ “Tell them, ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior^[a] and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?’”

Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness

¹² “And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous won’t save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won’t keep them from remaining away^[b] when they’re turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.’