Ezekiel 33:7-19

7Son of man, I have chosen you to be a guard for Israel's people. You must listen to the messages that I give you. Then you must use what I say to warn the Israelites.

8I might say to a wicked person, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” Then you must warn that wicked person to stop doing wicked things. If you do not warn him, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty of his death.

9If you do warn him and he refuses to change, he will die because of his sins. But you will have saved your own life.

10Son of man, give Israel's people this message: “You are saying, ‘The punishment for our sins is too much for us. We are dying because of all the bad things that we have done. What should we do so that we can continue to live?’ ”

11Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”

12Son of man, you must say to your people, “If a righteous person refuses to obey me, I will punish him. The good things that he has done will not save him. And if a wicked person stops doing bad things, he will no longer be guilty. Righteous people will not continue to live if they start to do bad things.”

13I may say to righteous people that they will certainly continue to live. But then they may trust in the good things that they have done. They may think that I will not punish them if they start to do evil things. But if they do that, I will destroy them because of their sins. I will not even think about the good things that they did at an earlier time.

14Also, I may say to wicked people, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” But then they may stop doing bad things. They may start to do things that are good and right.

15For example, a wicked person might give back something that he has taken from someone as a guarantee. Or he might give back things that he has robbed from people. A wicked person might start to obey the laws that give life. He might stop doing evil things. If wicked people change like that, then they will continue to live. They will not die as punishment for their sins.

16I will not think about the sins that they have done. Now that they have started to do things that are good and right, they will certainly continue to live.

17Your people, the Israelites, are saying: “The Lord is not fair in the things that he does!” But it is the people themselves who live in a way that is not fair.

18If a righteous person stops doing good things and he starts to do evil things, he will die. He deserves to die because of his sins.

19Also, if a wicked person stops doing bad things and he starts to do things that are good and right, he will continue to live. He deserves to live because he has changed.