“You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. “The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation” ( Numbers 14:18). “You shall not bow down to them or worship them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” ( Exodus 20:5). One thinks of abuse, alcoholism, and other sins of personal assault, violations of the image of God in the human being. Moreover, certain sins carry intergenerational consequences. The children of those who sin do in fact inherit the seed of sin and the sin nature.

But the phrase is also a concept that is observed sin does have consequences. So, the phrase is linked to the keeping of the commandments and the consequences of sin passing through the generations. The phrase also appears in the book of Numbers and in Jeremiah. The phrase, 'sins of the fathers' appears in the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy and Exodus. Where the Bible Mentions 'Sins of the Father' The phrase itself and the concept of the consequences of sin passing from one generation to another are found throughout English literature, film, and even popular music.

But “sins of the father” also appears in select works of antiquity. The phrase, “the sins of the father,” is of Biblical origin.

Breaking the sins of the father