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33 Once again a message came to me from the Lord. He said:

“Son of dust, tell your people: ‘When I bring an army against a country, and the people of that land choose a watchman, and when he sees the army coming and blows the alarm to warn them, then anyone who hears the alarm but refuses to heed it—well, if he dies, the fault is his own. For he heard the warning and wouldn’t listen; the fault is his. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm and warn the people, he is responsible for their deaths. They will die in their sins, but I will charge the watchman with their deaths.’

“So with you, son of dust. I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel; therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will die!’ and you don’t tell him what I say, so that he does not repent—that wicked person will die in his sins, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn him to repent and he doesn’t, he will die in his sins, and you will not be responsible.

10 “O people of Israel, you are saying: ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we pine away with guilt. How can we live?’ 11 Tell them: ‘As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; I desire that the wicked turn from his evil ways and live. Turn, turn from your wickedness, for why will you die, O Israel? 12 For the good works of a righteous man will not save him if he turns to sin; and the sins of an evil man will not destroy him if he repents and turns from his sins.’

13 “I have said the good man will live. But if he sins, expecting his past goodness to save him, then none of his good deeds will be remembered. I will destroy him for his sins. 14 And when I tell the wicked he will die, and then he turns from his sins and does what is fair and right— 15 if he gives back the borrower’s pledge, returns what he has stolen, and walks along the paths of right, not doing evil—he shall surely live. He shall not die. 16 None of his past sins shall be brought up against him, for he has turned to the good and shall surely live.

17 “And yet your people are saying the Lord isn’t fair. The trouble is they aren’t fair. 18 For again I say, when the good man turns to evil, he shall die. 19 But if the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what’s fair and just, he shall live. 20 Yet you are saying the Lord isn’t fair. But I will judge each of you in accordance with his deeds.”

21 In the eleventh year[a] of our exile, late in December, one of those who escaped from Jerusalem arrived to tell me, “The city has fallen!” 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the previous evening, and he had healed me so that I could speak again by the time the man arrived.

23 Then this message came to me:

24 “Son of dust, the scattered remnants of Judah living among the ruined cities keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man and yet he got possession of the whole country! We are many, so we should certainly be able to get it back!’ 25 But the Lord God says: ‘You are powerless, for you do evil! You eat meat with the blood, you worship idols, and murder. Do you suppose I’ll let you have the land? 26 Murderers! Idolators! Adulterers! Should you possess the land?’

27 “Tell them, ‘The Lord God says: As I live, surely those living in the ruins shall die by the sword. Those living in the open fields shall be eaten by wild animals, and those in the forts and caves shall die of disease. 28 I will desolate the land and her pride, and her power shall come to an end. And the mountain villages of Israel shall be so ruined that no one will even travel through them. 29 When I have ruined the land because of their sins, then they shall know I am the Lord.’

30 “Son of dust, your people are whispering behind your back. They talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors, saying, ‘Come on, let’s have some fun! Let’s go hear him tell us what the Lord is saying!’[b] 31 So they come as though they are sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them to; they talk very sweetly about loving the Lord, but with their hearts they are loving their money. 32 You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings lovely songs with a beautiful voice or plays well on an instrument. They hear what you say but don’t pay any attention to it! 33 But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 33:21 In the eleventh year. Some manuscripts read, “In the twelfth year.”
  2. Ezekiel 33:30 Come on, let’s have some fun! Let’s go hear him tell us what the Lord is saying! literally, “Come and let us hear what the word is that comes from the Lord!”

Renewal of Ezekiel’s Call as Watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword(A) against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,(B) and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet(C) to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning(D) and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.(E) Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head.(F) If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.(G) But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’(H)

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman(I) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(J) When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,(K)’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(L) But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so,(M) they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.(N)

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away(O) because of[b] them. How then can we live?(P)”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.(Q) Turn!(R) Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’(S)

12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people,(T) ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’(U) 13 If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done.(V) 14 And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just(W) and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge(X) for a loan, return what they have stolen,(Y) follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die.(Z) 16 None of the sins(AA) that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.(AB)

17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. 18 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil,(AC) they will die for it.(AD) 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.(AE) 20 Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”(AF)

Jerusalem’s Fall Explained

21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped(AG) from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!(AH) 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me,(AI) and he opened my mouth(AJ) before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.(AK)

23 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, the people living in those ruins(AL) in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many;(AM) surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’(AN) 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat(AO) meat with the blood(AP) still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?(AQ) 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things,(AR) and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife.(AS) Should you then possess the land?’

27 “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague.(AT) 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains(AU) of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.(AV) 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate(AW) waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’(AX)

30 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ 31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before(AY) you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy(AZ) for unjust gain.(BA) 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs(BB) with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.(BC)

33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.(BD)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 33:8 Or in; also in verse 9
  2. Ezekiel 33:10 Or away in