Ezekiel 33

The Watchman’s Duty

1Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, speak to the 1sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, 3and he sees the sword coming upon the land and 2blows the 3horn and warns the people, 4then 4someone who hears the sound of the horn but 5does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his 6blood will be on his own head. 5He heard the sound of the horn but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have 7saved his life. 6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is 8taken away for his wrongdoing; but I will 9require his 10blood from the watchman’s hand.’

7“Now as for you, son of man, I have 1112appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a 13message from My mouth and give them a 14warning from Me. 8When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will 15certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked about his way, that wicked person shall die for his wrongdoing, but I will 16require his blood from your hand. 9But if you on your part warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he 17does not turn from his way, he will die for his wrongdoing, but you have 18saved your life.

10“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have 19said: “Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are 20rotting away in them; 21how then can we 22survive?”’ 11Say to them, ‘23As I live!’ declares the Lord 24God, ‘I take 25no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked 26turn from his way and live. 27Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?’ 12And you, son of man, say to 28your fellow citizens, ‘The 29righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will 30not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live 31by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ 13When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he 32commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die. 14But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he 33turns from his sin and practices 34justice and righteousness, 15if a wicked person returns a pledge, 35pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the 36statutes 37which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 1638None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.

17“Yet 39your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. 18When the righteous turns from his righteousness and 40commits injustice, then he shall die in 41it. 19But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. 20Yet you say, ‘42The way of the Lord is not right.’ I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.”

Word of Jerusalem’s Capture

21Now 43in the 44twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “45The city has been 46taken.” 22Now the 47hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the survivors came. And He 48opened my mouth 49at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was 50opened and I was no longer 51speechless.

23Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, they who 52live in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘53Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to 54us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ 25Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “You eat meat with the 55blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. 56Should you then possess the land? 26You 5758rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’ 27You shall say this to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: “As I live, those who are in the places of ruins certainly will 59fall by the sword, and whoever is in the 60open field I will give to the animals to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the 61caves will die of plague. 28And I will 62make the land a desolation and a waste, and the 63pride of her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be deserted so that no one will pass through. 29Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’

30“But as for you, son of man, 64your fellow citizens who talk with one another about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak one with another, each with his brother, saying, ‘65Come now and hear what the 66message is that comes from the Lord.’ 31And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them; for they do the lustful desires expressed by their 67mouth, and their heart follows their unlawful 68gain. 32And behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a 69beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. 33So when it 70comes--71as it certainly will--then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”