"Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me." It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for the parents' guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually the case, however, that children walk in the steps of their parents. By inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father's sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy from father to son, to the third and fourth generation. This fearful truth should have a solemn power to restrain men from following a course of sin.

Der indtil tredje og fjerde led straffer fædres brøde på børn af dem, som hader mig. Det kan ikke undgås, at børnene kommer til at lide under følgerne af deres forældres forkerte handlinger; de straffes dog ikke for forældrenes synd, medmindre de selv er delagtige i den. Men i almindelighed går børnene i forældrenes fodspor. På grund af de arvelige anlæg og forældrenes eksempel får sønnerne del i fædrenes synd. Forkerte tilbøjeligheder, unaturlige lyster og lave moralske grundsætninger såvel som fysisk sygdom og degeneration går i arv fra fader til søn indtil tredje og fjerde slægtled. Denne frygtelige sandhed burde virke som en vældig bremse på menneskenes tilbøjelighed til at synde.