New English Translation
Ezekiel 33:2
2“Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.
Ezekiel 33:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
- New International Version (NIV)“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,
Context of Ezekiel 33:2
1The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 3He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, and warns the people, 4but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.
Read all of Ezekiel 33Ezekiel 33:2 word by word
בֶּן־אָדָ֗ם דַּבֵּ֤ר אֶל־בְּנֵֽי־עַמְּךָ֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אֶ֕רֶץ כִּֽי־אָבִ֥יא עָלֶ֖יהָ חָ֑רֶב וְלָקְח֨וּ עַם־הָאָ֜רֶץ אִ֤ישׁ אֶחָד֙ מִקְצֵיהֶ֔ם וְנָתְנ֥וּ אֹת֛וֹ לָהֶ֖ם לְצֹפֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- to the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of thy peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, When I bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- upon a landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- aאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of their coastsקָצֶהqâtseh qêtseh · endH7097
- and setנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
- him for their watchmanצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
Cross-references for Ezekiel 33:2
- Ezekiel 33:17“Yet your people say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their behavior that is not right.
- Ezekiel 3:11Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”
- Ezekiel 6:3Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
- Ezekiel 11:8You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord.
- Ezekiel 14:17“Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals.
- Ezekiel 21:9“Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.
- Leviticus 26:25I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. Although you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands.
- Jeremiah 12:12A destructive army will come marching over the hilltops in the desert. For the Lord will use them as his destructive weapon against everyone from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.
- Jeremiah 15:2If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”
- Jeremiah 25:31The sounds of battle will resound to the ends of the earth. For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. He will pass judgment on all humankind and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ The Lord so affirms it!
- Jeremiah 47:6How long will you cry out, ‘Oh, sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you stop killing? Go back into your sheath! Stay there and rest!’
- Jeremiah 47:7But how can it rest when I, the Lord, have given it orders? I have ordered it to attack the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” says the Lord who rules over all. Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.
- Ezekiel 33:7“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.
- 2 Samuel 18:24Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.
- 2 Kings 9:17Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. He said, “I see troops!” Jehoram ordered, “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 33:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Son of man - if the people of the land take a man - The first ten verses of this chapter are the same with Ezekiel 3:17-22; and to what is said there on this most important and awful subject I must refer the reader. Here the People choose the watchman; there, the Lord appoints him. When God chooses, the people should approve.Read the comment
- 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. 1-33Heretofore his functions had been chiefly threatening; from this point, after the evil had got to its worst in the overthrow of Jerusalem, the consolatory element preponderates. 2. to the children of thy people--whom he had been forbidden to address from Eze 24:26, 27, till Jerusalem was overthrown, and the "escaped" came with tidings of the judgment being completed. So now, in Eze 33:21, the tidings of the fact having arrived, he opens his heretofore…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 33:2
In the dictionaries
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
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