以西结书 33
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
守望者的责任(A)
33 耶和华的话临到我说： 2 “人子啊！你要告诉你本国的人，说：‘我使刀剑临到一地，那地的人民从他们中间选出一个人，作他们的守望者； 3 这人见刀剑临到那地，就吹响号角，警告众人； 4 凡听见号角声而不接受警告的，刀剑若来把他除灭，他的罪（“罪”原文作“血”）就要归到自己的头上； 5 他既然听见号角声而不接受警告，所以他的罪（“罪”原文作“血”）要归到自己的身上；他若接受警告，就可以救回自己的性命了。 6 但是，那守望的人若见刀剑临到，却不吹响号角，以致人民没有受到警告，刀剑来把他们中间的一个人除灭；那人虽然因自己的罪孽被除灭，我却要因他的死追究守望的人。’
7 “人子啊！我立了你作以色列家守望的人，所以你要聆听我口中的话，替我警告他们。 8 如果我对恶人说：‘恶人啊，你必定死亡！’你以西结却不出声警告恶人离开他所行的，这恶人就必因自己的罪孽死亡，我却要因他的死追究你。 9 如果你警告恶人，叫他离开他所行的，他仍不转离，他就必因自己的罪孽死亡，你却救了自己的性命。
人的善恶各自负责
10 “人子啊！你要对以色列家说：‘你们这样说：我们的过犯和罪恶常在我们身上；我们必因此衰弱而死，怎能存活呢？’ 11 你要对他们说：‘主耶和华这样宣告：我指着我的永生起誓，我绝不喜悦恶人死亡，却喜悦恶人离开他所行的，得以存活。以色列家啊，回转吧！离开你们所行的，何必死亡呢？’ 12 人子啊！你要对你本国的人说：‘义人的义在他犯罪的日子，不能救他；恶人的恶在他离开恶行的日子，也不会绊倒他；义人在他犯罪的日子，也不能因他的义存活。’ 13 我虽然对义人说他必定生存，但是他若恃着自己的义而行恶，他的一切义都必不被记念；他必因所行的恶死亡。 14 我虽然对恶人说：‘你必定死亡’，但是他若离开他的罪，行公平和正直的事， 15 把抵押归还，把抢夺人的物件偿还，遵行赐生命的律例，不作恶事，他就必存活，不致死亡； 16 他所犯的一切罪，必不被记念；他行了公平和正直的事，就必存活。
17 “你本国的人还说：‘主所行的不公平。’其实他们所行的才是不公平。 18 义人若离开他的义，去行恶事，他就必因此死亡； 19 恶人若离开他的恶，去行公平和正直的事，他就必因此存活。 20 你们还说：‘主所行的不公平。’以色列家啊！我必照着你们各人所行的审判你们。”
耶路撒冷失陷的消息
21 在我们被掳以后的第十二年十月初五日，有人从耶路撒冷逃到我这里来，说：“城已经被攻陷了。” 22 那人来到的前一天晚上，耶和华的手按在我身上，开了我的口。到了早晨，那人来到我这里，我的口已经开了，不再作哑巴。
23 耶和华的话临到我说： 24 “人子啊！那些住在以色列地废墟里的人常说：‘亚伯拉罕一个人就得了这地为业；我们人数众多，这地更应该给我们为业。’ 25 因此，你要对他们说：‘主耶和华这样说：你们吃带血的祭肉，举目仰望你们的偶像，并且流人的血，你们还可以得这地为业吗？ 26 你们倚仗自己的刀剑，行可憎恶的事，人人玷污邻舍的妻子，你们还可以得这地为业吗？’ 27 你要对他们这样说：‘主耶和华这样说：我指着我的永生起誓，那些在废墟里的，必倒在刀下；在田间的，我必交给野兽吞吃；在堡垒和山洞里的，必因瘟疫而死。 28 我必使这地非常荒凉，它因势力而有的骄傲必止息；以色列的山都必荒凉，无人经过。 29 我必因他们所行一切可憎恶的事，使这地非常荒凉，那时他们就知道我是耶和华。’
先知传讲信息的结果
30 “人子啊！你本国的人在城墙旁边和各家的门口正在谈论你；弟兄对弟兄彼此说：‘来吧！听听有甚么话从耶和华那里出来。’ 31 他们成群来到你那里，坐在你面前，像是我的子民一样。其实他们听了你的话，却不去行；他们只是用口表示爱慕，他们的心却是追随不义之财。 32 在他们眼中，你不过是首情歌，唱得美妙，弹得悦耳，他们听了你的话，却不去行。 33 看哪！这事必定应验，到那时候，他们就知道在他们中间有先知了。”
Ezekiel 33
New English Translation
Ezekiel Israel’s Watchman
33 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people,[a] 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. 3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet,[b] and warns the people,[c] 4 but 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.[d] 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself.[e] If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity,[f] but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’[g]
7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman[h] for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’[i] and you do not warn[j] the wicked about his behavior,[k] the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.[l] 9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior,[m] and he refuses to change,[n] he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us,[o] and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior[p] and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds![q] Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
12 “And you, son of man, say to your people,[r] ‘The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels.[s] As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it.[t] The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness[u] if he sins.’[v] 13 Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die. 14 Suppose I say to the wicked, ‘You must certainly die,’ but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right. 15 He[w] returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life,[x] committing no iniquity. He will certainly live—he will not die. 16 None of the sins he has committed will be counted[y] against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
17 “Yet your people[z] say, ‘The behavior[aa] of the Lord is not right,’[ab] when it is their behavior that is not right. 18 When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. 19 When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it. 20 Yet you say, ‘The behavior of the Lord is not right.’ House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior.”[ac]
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month,[ad] a refugee came to me from Jerusalem saying, “The city has been defeated!”[ae] 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me[af] the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord[ag] opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived[ah] in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was able to speak once more.[ai] 23 The Lord’s message came to me: 24 “Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.’[aj] 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it,[ak] pray to[al] your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess[am] the land? 26 You rely[an] on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’
27 “This is what you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die[ao] by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease. 28 I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.’[ap]
30 “But as for you, son of man, your people[aq] (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another,[ar] ‘Come hear the word that comes[as] from the Lord.’ 31 They come to you in crowds,[at] and they sit in front of you as[au] my people. They hear your words, but do not obey[av] them. For they talk lustfully,[aw] and their heart is set on[ax] their own advantage.[ay] 32 Realize[az] that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician.[ba] They hear your words, but they do not obey them.[bb] 33 When all this comes true—and it certainly will[bc]—then they will know that a prophet was among them.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:2 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
- Ezekiel 33:3 tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).
- Ezekiel 33:3 tn Sounding the trumpet could warn of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).
- Ezekiel 33:4 tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”
- Ezekiel 33:5 tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”
- Ezekiel 33:6 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and in vv. 8 and 9; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.
- Ezekiel 33:6 tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”
- Ezekiel 33:7 sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.
- Ezekiel 33:8 tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.
- Ezekiel 33:8 tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”
- Ezekiel 33:8 tn Heb “way.”
- Ezekiel 33:8 tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”
- Ezekiel 33:9 tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”
- Ezekiel 33:9 tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”
- Ezekiel 33:10 tn Heb “(are) upon us.”
- Ezekiel 33:11 tn Heb “turn from his way.”
- Ezekiel 33:11 tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.
- Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
- Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “in the day of his rebellion.” The statement envisions a godly person rejecting what is good and becoming sinful. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:247-48.
- Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “and the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble in it in the day of his turning from his wickedness.”
- Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “by it.”
- Ezekiel 33:12 tn Heb “in the day of his sin.”
- Ezekiel 33:15 tn Heb “the wicked one.”
- Ezekiel 33:15 tn Heb “and in the statutes of life he walks.”
- Ezekiel 33:16 tn Heb “remembered.”
- Ezekiel 33:17 tn Heb “the sons of your people.”
- Ezekiel 33:17 tn Heb “way.”
- Ezekiel 33:17 tn The Hebrew verb translated “is (not) right” has the basic meaning of “to measure.” For a similar concept, see Ezek 18:25, 29.
- Ezekiel 33:20 tn Heb “ways.”
- Ezekiel 33:21 tn January 19, 585 b.c.
- Ezekiel 33:21 tn Heb “smitten.”
- Ezekiel 33:22 tn The other occurrences of the phrase “the hand of the Lord” in Ezekiel are in the context of prophetic visions.
- Ezekiel 33:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 33:22 tn Heb “by the time of the arrival to me.” For clarity the translation specifies the refugee as the one who arrived.
- Ezekiel 33:22 sn Ezekiel’s God-imposed muteness was lifted (see 3:26).
- Ezekiel 33:24 sn Outside of its seven occurrences in Ezekiel the term translated “possession” appears only in Exod 6:8 and Deut 33:4.
- Ezekiel 33:25 sn This practice was a violation of Levitical law (see Lev 19:26).
- Ezekiel 33:25 tn Heb “lift up your eyes.”
- Ezekiel 33:25 tn Heb “Will you possess?”
- Ezekiel 33:26 tn Heb “stand.”
- Ezekiel 33:27 tn Heb “fall.”
- Ezekiel 33:29 sn The judgments of vv. 27-29 echo the judgments of Lev 26:22, 25.
- Ezekiel 33:30 tn Heb “sons of your people.”
- Ezekiel 33:30 tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”
- Ezekiel 33:30 tn Heb “comes out.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn Heb “do.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn Heb “goes after.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term that can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.
- Ezekiel 33:32 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 33:32 tn Heb “one who makes playing music well.”
- Ezekiel 33:32 sn Similar responses are found in Isa 29:13; Matt 21:28-32; James 1:22-25.
- Ezekiel 33:33 tn Heb “behold, it is coming.”
Ezekiel 33
King James Version
33 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 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:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
22 Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
23 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord.
31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
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