Ezekiel 18 sons die for father's sins

[Jason Hare]

I have had trouble with these verses, and the same ones in Jer 31:29-30.
Right after them in Jer 32:18 it says that the children will suffer for the sins of the parents.
It seems that Achan's children were killed along with Achan for his sin in Josh 7:24-25.
Also Dathan and Abiram's children died with them in Num 16:26-33.
I thought maybe in the New Covenant in Jer 31:31 the generational curse is removed. But I would need another verse to confirm that, and I don't know one.

Thanks for this input. So much to think about on this question.

[kwrandolph]

I have had trouble with these verses, and the same ones in Jer 31:29-30.
Right after them in Jer 32:18 it says that the children will suffer for the sins of the parents.

Many of the sins of the fathers are multigenerational. For example, if a father is violent and beats his wife and kids, the kids are traumatized for the rest of their lives, some more than others. Many more similar examples can be adduced. In these cases, though the sons are not punished for the sins of their fathers, the fathers’ sins still affect the children. This is how I read Jeremiah 32:18.

It seems that Achan's children were killed along with Achan for his sin in Josh 7:24-25.
Also Dathan and Abiram's children died with them in Num 16:26-33.

In cases like these, the whole family was involved, not just the father. Achen couldn’t hide his ill-gotten goods without his whole family knowing about it. In the case of Dathan and Abiram, again we see them involving their whole families, they didn’t act alone. In both cases, if the sons had disowned their fathers and walked away, they would have lived, as did Korach’s sons.

I thought maybe in the New Covenant in Jer 31:31 the generational curse is removed. But I would need another verse to confirm that, and I don't know one.

Seeing as the New Covenant replaces the whole of the Old Covenant, including what we call “The Ten Commandments”, we start with a clean slate in the New Testament.

Karl W. Randolph.