16 Now (A)at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a (B)watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, (C)warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his (D)blood I will require from your hand. 19 However if you have (E)warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have (F)saved yourself. 20 Again, (G)when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an (H)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. 21 However, if you have (I)warned [a]the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:21 Lit him, the righteous

A Watchman for Israel

16 After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. 18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

Read full chapter