Ezekiel 3:16-21
English Standard Version
A Watchman for Israel
16 (A)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 (B)“Son of man, (C)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall (D)give them warning from me. 18 (E)If I say to the wicked, (F)‘You shall surely die,’ (G)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person (H)shall die for[a] his iniquity, (I)but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 (J)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, (K)but you (L)will have delivered your soul. 20 (M)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, (N)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. (O)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, (P)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, (Q)but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20
Ezekiel 3:16-21
New English Translation
16 At the end of seven days the Lord’s message came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman[a] for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’[b] and you do not warn him—you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked lifestyle so that he may live—that wicked person will die for his iniquity,[c] but I will hold you accountable for his death.[d] 19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life.[e]
20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle[f] before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he[g] does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
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- Ezekiel 3:17 tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24 and 2 Kgs 9:17.
- Ezekiel 3:18 sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.
- Ezekiel 3:18 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”
- Ezekiel 3:18 tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).
- Ezekiel 3:19 tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.
- Ezekiel 3:20 tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.
- Ezekiel 3:21 tn Heb “the righteous man.”
Ezekiel 3:16-21
New International Version
Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman
16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(B) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(C) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,(D)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(E) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn(F) from their wickedness(G) or from their evil ways, they will die(H) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.(I)
20 “Again, when a righteous person turns(J) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block(K) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(L) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.(M)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20
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