THEOSISJerome of Stridon
But if a son is born to a man who is a thief, shedding blood and engaging in such acts (or, as the LXX interprets, committing sins: he does not follow the path of his righteous father), and instead indulges in wrongdoings such as eating on the mountains, desecrating his neighbor's wife, exploiting the needy and the poor, stealing violently, failing to return what he owes, and turning his gaze to idols, making himself an abomination, increasing wickedness, and receiving more: will he live? Because he has committed all these abominations, he shall surely die; his blood will be upon him. In Hebrew, instead of thief, it is written as "rasha," which Aquila translated as sinner in his second edition, Simmachus as criminal, and the LXX and Theodotion as contagion.
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Just as contagion brings sickness and wreaks havoc in the lands it affects, so does the man concerned devastate everything around him.
Let us first clarify, for historical understanding, that the sins of the fathers do not impact the children. If a righteous man follows the precepts that have been described, he will live. But if he has a son who strays from the service of the Lord, transforming his father's virtues into vices, acting contrary to his father's deeds, can he truly live? He shall not live; he carries the guilt of his own actions. Moreover, in a spiritual context, if a member of the Church conveys the message of the Gospel, but his son or disciple is drawn into heretical beliefs, he will be deemed an infestor. It is similarly noted in Psalm 1: “and on the way of the wicked he shall not stand.” In Proverbs, the arrogant, proud, and presumptuous are also termed as infestors. He sheds the blood of those who are deceived, compounding his own sins as he indulges in pride, desecrating his neighbor's church, afflicting, oppressing, and causing stumbling blocks for the needy and poor in their understanding of Scripture. He forcibly takes away those who have separated from the Church and neglects to return what he ought to have learned from his teacher, complying with the command, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8), while turning his attention to idols and false images of his own making, committing all manner of abominations. He gives material support to propagate the delusions of the teacher through his disciples, demanding more from those to whom he has given. Surely, he cannot live; he will perish in his own blood.