New King James Version
Ezekiel 33:2
2“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,
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 Living Translation (NLT)“Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.
Context of Ezekiel 33:2
1Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “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, 3when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4then 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.
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 the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!
- Ezekiel 3:11And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”
- Ezekiel 6:3and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
- Ezekiel 11:8You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God.
- Ezekiel 14:17“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it,
- Ezekiel 21:9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say: ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished!
- Leviticus 26:25And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Jeremiah 12:12The plunderers have come On all the desolate heights in the wilderness, For the sword of the Lord shall devour From one end of the land to the other end of the land; No flesh shall have peace.
- Jeremiah 15:2And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’
- Jeremiah 25:31A noise will come to the ends of the earth— For the Lord has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 47:6“O you sword of the Lord, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still!
- Jeremiah 47:7How can it be quiet, Seeing the Lord has given it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.”
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- Ezekiel 33:7“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.
- 2 Samuel 18:24Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone.
- 2 Kings 9:17Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company of men.” And Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ”
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries