Ezekiel 33:21-33

New King James Version

The Fall of Jerusalem

²¹And it came to pass in the twelfth year ^(A)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(C)“The city has been ^[a]captured!”

²²Now ^(D)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had ^(E)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴“Son of man, ^(F)they who inhabit those ^(G)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(H)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(I)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(J)possession.’

²⁵“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(K)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(L)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(M)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(N)land? ²⁶You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(O)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷“Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely ^(P)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(Q)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(R)caves shall die of the pestilence. ²⁸^(S)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[b]her ^(T)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(U)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

Hearing and Not Doing

³⁰“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they ^(V)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹So ^(W)they come to you as people do, they ^(X)sit before you as My people, and they ^(Y)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(Z)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(AA)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³²Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do ^(AB)not do them. ³³^(AC)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(AD)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”