You asked

how can systems of punishment address both accountability and the restoration described here?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Ezekiel 36:26

“I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”

This verse is part of a longer prophecy from the prophet Ezekiel, spoken to the exiles of Judah in Babylon around the 6th century BCE. After describing their destruction and exile as a consequence of their actions, God promises a future restoration, not just of their land, but of their inner nature.

What might it look like for a system of accountability to also cultivate a 'heart of flesh' in individuals and communities?

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Read alongside it

Jeremiah 31:33
This passage also speaks of a new covenant involving God's law written on the heart, pointing to internal change.
Romans 12:2
Paul speaks of being transformed by the renewing of the mind, which suggests an inner shift impacting outward behavior.
2 Corinthians 5:17
This verse declares that 'if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation,' emphasizing radical personal transformation.

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