Ezekiel 33:4

Ezekiel 33:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
• New International Version (NIV)then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.
• English Standard Version (ESV)then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
• New King James Version (NKJV)then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

Context of Ezekiel 33:4

2‘Son of man, speak to your people. Say to them, “Think about what might happen if I send an army to attack a country. The people of that country might choose one of their own men to be a guard to warn them about danger. 3Then, if the guard sees that enemy soldiers are ready to attack, he must blow a trumpet to warn his people. Someone might hear the sound of the trumpet, but he does nothing to keep himself safe. If enemy soldiers then come and kill that person, he is guilty of his own death. 5He deserves to die because he heard the sound of the trumpet, but he did nothing. When the trumpet warned him of danger, he should have got ready. If he had done that, he would have saved his life. 6But the guard might not blow the trumpet when he sees the enemy. He might not warn his people that the enemy is ready to attack them. Then enemy soldiers might kill some of his people. Those people will die because of their sins. But the guard will be guilty of their death, because he did not warn them of danger.”

Ezekiel 33:4 word by word

וְשָׁמַ֨ע הַשֹּׁמֵ֜עַ אֶת־ק֤וֹל הַשּׁוֹפָר֙ וְלֹ֣א נִזְהָ֔ר וַתָּ֥בוֹא חֶ֖רֶב וַתִּקָּחֵ֑הוּ דָּמ֥וֹ בְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ יִֽהְיֶֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then whosoeverשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• the soundקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
• of the trumpetשֹׁפָרshôphâr shôphâr · trumpetH7782
• and taketh not warningזָהַרzâhar · to warnH2094
• if the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• and take him awayלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• his bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• shall be upon his own headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218

Cross-references for Ezekiel 33:4

• 2 Chronicles 25:16While the prophet was still speaking, the king said to him, ‘We did not choose you to be the king's advisor! If you do not stop speaking, my men will kill you.’ So the prophet stopped. But then he said, ‘I know what God has decided to do. He will destroy you because you have done these bad things and you have not listened to my advice.’
• Proverbs 29:1You may warn a proud person many times, but he will not listen to you. Trouble will suddenly happen to him and he will not escape.
• Jeremiah 6:17The Lord said, ‘I sent my prophets to warn you of danger. They said, “Listen for the noise of the trumpet! That will tell you when danger is near.” But you said, “We do not want to listen.”
• Jeremiah 42:20You made a terrible mistake when you asked me to pray to the Lord your God for you. You told me, “Tell us everything that the Lord our God says, and we will do it.”
• Zechariah 1:2This was the Lord's message: ‘I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors.
• James 1:22But be careful to do what God says in his message. Do not only listen to it. Do not make that mistake!
• Ezekiel 33:5He deserves to die because he heard the sound of the trumpet, but he did nothing. When the trumpet warned him of danger, he should have got ready. If he had done that, he would have saved his life.
• Ezekiel 18:13When he lends money to people, he wants them to pay back a lot more money to him. A man like that will not continue to live! He will certainly die, because he himself has done all these disgusting things. He is guilty, so he himself must die as his punishment.
• Leviticus 20:9If a person says bad things about his mother or his father, you must kill him. He has destroyed their honour. His sin will cause his death.
• 2 Samuel 1:16David had said to the Amalekite, ‘You deserve to die because of what you have said. Your own words show that you did a bad thing. You yourself said, “I have killed the Lord's chosen king.” ’
• Acts 18:6The Jews did not agree with Paul and they insulted him. So he shook the dirt off his clothes at them. He said to them, ‘If God punishes you, then you have caused it to happen. It will not be because of me. Now I will go to the Gentiles and I will teach them God's message.’
• Acts 20:26So I want to say this clearly to you today. If any of you have not believed in Jesus, it is not because of me.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 33:4

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4watchman: See study note on Ezekiel 3:16219. The message about the watchman is part of Ezekiel’s public announcement, not a private task. It emphasizes that the listeners are responsible for acting on the watchman’s message. Before Jerusalem's destruction, people ignored the warning. After the exile, they struggled to believe the message of hope. In both situations, Ezekiel faced rejection and was tempted to stay silent. God warned him again that he could…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. blood ... upon his own head--metaphor from sacrificial victims, on the heads of which they used to lay their hands, praying that their guilt should be upon the victims.Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 33:4

• Impenitence
• Minister, Christian
• Opportunity
• Responsibility
• Trumpet
• Watchman

In the dictionaries

• Ezekiel, Book of
• Turn
• Watches
• Ezekiel
• Prophecy; Prophets
• Resurrection
• Salvation
• Teach; Teacher; Teaching

Commentaries on Ezekiel 33

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings