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Ezekiel 31-33
New King James Version
Ezekiel 31-33
New King James Version
Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree(A)
31 Now it came to pass in the (B)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
(C)‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 (D)Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4 (E)The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out [a]rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5 ‘Therefore (F)its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6 All the (G)birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations [b]made their home.
7 ‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the (H)garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the [c]chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and (I)its heart was [d]lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the (J)mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, (K)the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen (L)on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie (M)broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.
13 ‘On (N)its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—
14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.
‘For (O)they have all been delivered to death,
(P)To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
15 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘In the day when it (Q)went down to [e]hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to [f]mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations (R)shake at the sound of its fall, when I (S)cast it down to [g]hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and (T)all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, (U)were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm (V)dwelt in its shadows among the nations.
18 (W)‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; (X)you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord God.”
Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt
32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the (Y)twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, (Z)take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
(AA)‘You are like a young lion among the nations,
And (AB)you are like a monster in the seas,
(AC)Bursting forth in your rivers,
Troubling the waters with your feet,
And (AD)fouling their rivers.
3 ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“I will therefore (AE)spread My net over you with a company of many people,
And they will draw you up in My net.
4 Then (AF)I will leave you on the land;
I will cast you out on the open fields,
(AG)And cause to [h]settle on you all the birds of the heavens.
And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth.
5 I will lay your flesh (AH)on the mountains,
And fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 “I will also water the land with the flow of your blood,
Even to the mountains;
And the riverbeds will be full of you.
7 When I put out your light,
(AI)I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
And the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the [i]bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you,
And bring darkness upon your land,”
Says the Lord God.
9 ‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and (AJ)they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.
11 (AK)‘For thus says the Lord God: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them (AL)the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.
(AM)“They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
13 Also I will destroy all its animals
From beside its great waters;
(AN)The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
14 Then I will make their waters [j]clear,
And make their rivers run like oil,”
Says the Lord God.
15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
And the country is destitute of all that once filled it,
When I strike all who dwell in it,
(AO)Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
16 “This is the (AP)lamentation
With which they shall lament her;
The daughters of the nations shall lament her;
They shall lament for her, for Egypt,
And for all her multitude,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”
Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, (AQ)that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
18 “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt,
And (AR)cast them down to the depths of the earth,
Her and the daughters of the famous nations,
With those who go down to the Pit:
19 ‘Whom (AS)do you surpass in beauty?
(AT)Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’
20 “They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword;
She is delivered to the sword,
(AU)Drawing her and all her multitudes.
21 (AV)The strong among the mighty
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell
With those who help him:
‘They have (AW)gone down,
They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
22 “Assyria(AX) is there, and all her company,
With their graves all around her,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword.
23 (AY)Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit,
And her company is all around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who (AZ)caused terror in the land of the living.
24 “There is (BA)Elam and all her multitude,
All around her grave,
All of them slain, fallen by the sword,
Who have (BB)gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth,
(BC)Who caused their terror in the land of the living;
Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25 They have set her (BD)bed in the midst of the slain,
With all her multitude,
With her graves all around it,
All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword;
Though their terror was caused
In the land of the living,
Yet they bear their shame
With those who go down to the Pit;
It was put in the midst of the slain.
26 “There are (BE)Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes,
With all their graves around it,
All of them (BF)uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
Though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 (BG)They do not lie with the mighty
Who are fallen of the uncircumcised,
Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war;
They have laid their swords under their heads,
But their iniquities will be on their bones,
Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
And lie with those slain by the sword.
29 “There is (BH)Edom,
Her kings and all her princes,
Who despite their might
Are laid beside those slain by the sword;
They shall lie with the uncircumcised,
And with those who go down to the Pit.
30 (BI)There are the princes of the north,
All of them, and all the (BJ)Sidonians,
Who have gone down with the slain
In shame at the terror which they caused by their might;
They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword,
And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31 “Pharaoh will see them
And be (BK)comforted over all his multitude,
Pharaoh and all his army,
Slain by the sword,”
Says the Lord God.
32 “For I have caused My terror in the land of the living;
And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised
With those slain by the sword,
Pharaoh and all his multitude,”
Says the Lord God.
The Watchman and His Message
33 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to (BL)the children of your people, and say to them: (BM)‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their (BN)watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does (BO)not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, (BP)his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will [k]save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, (BQ)he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
7 (BR)“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have [l]delivered your soul.
10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we (BS)pine[m] away in them, (BT)how can we then live?” ’ 11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, (BU)‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked (BV)turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For (BW)why should you die, O house of Israel?’
The Fairness of God’s Judgment
12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The (BX)righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, (BY)he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ 13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, (BZ)but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 14 Again, (CA)when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does [n]what is lawful and [o]right, 15 if the wicked (CB)restores the pledge, (CC)gives back what he has stolen, and walks in (CD)the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 (CE)None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 (CF)“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not [p]fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! 18 (CG)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 Yet you say, (CH)‘The way of the Lord is not [q]fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year (CI)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, (CJ)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, (CK)“The city has been [r]captured!”
22 Now (CL)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had (CM)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
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 24 “Son of man, (CN)they who inhabit those (CO)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, (CP)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. (CQ)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a (CR)possession.’
25 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: (CS)“You eat meat with blood, you (CT)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and (CU)shed blood. Should you then possess the (CV)land? 26 You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you (CW)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 (CX)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field (CY)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and (CZ)caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 (DA)For I will make the land most desolate, [s]her (DB)arrogant strength shall cease, and (DC)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. 29 Then 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 (DD)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 So (DE)they come to you as people do, they (DF)sit before you as My people, and they (DG)hear your words, but they do not do them; (DH)for with their mouth they show much love, but (DI)their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed 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 (DJ)not do them. 33 (DK)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then (DL)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 31:4 Or channels
- Ezekiel 31:6 Lit. dwelled
- Ezekiel 31:8 Or plane, Heb. armon
- Ezekiel 31:10 Proud
- Ezekiel 31:15 Or Sheol
- Ezekiel 31:15 Lit. be darkened
- Ezekiel 31:16 Or Sheol
- Ezekiel 32:4 Lit. sit or dwell
- Ezekiel 32:8 Or shining
- Ezekiel 32:14 Lit. sink; settle, grow clear
- Ezekiel 33:5 Or deliver his soul
- Ezekiel 33:9 Or saved your life
- Ezekiel 33:10 Or waste away
- Ezekiel 33:14 justice
- Ezekiel 33:14 righteousness
- Ezekiel 33:17 Or equitable
- Ezekiel 33:20 Or equitable
- Ezekiel 33:21 Lit. struck down
- Ezekiel 33:28 Lit. pride of her strength
Ezekiel 31-33
New International Version
Ezekiel 31-33
New International Version
Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon
31 In the eleventh year,(A) in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(B) 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
3 Consider Assyria,(C) once a cedar in Lebanon,(D)
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.(E)
4 The waters(F) nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.(G)
5 So it towered higher(H)
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters.(I)
6 All the birds of the sky
nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
gave birth(J) under its branches;
all the great nations
lived in its shade.(K)
7 It was majestic in beauty,
with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
to abundant waters.(L)
8 The cedars(M) in the garden of God
could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees(N)
compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
could match its beauty.(O)
9 I made it beautiful
with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden(P)
in the garden of God.(Q)
10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud(R) of its height, 11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,(S) 12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations(T) cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys;(U) its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.(V) 13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.(W) 14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined(X) for death,(Y) for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.(Z)
15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.(AA) 16 I made the nations tremble(AB) at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees(AC) of Eden,(AD) the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled(AE) in the earth below.(AF) 17 They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword,(AG) along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.
18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised,(AH) with those killed by the sword.
“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
A Lament Over Pharaoh
32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me:(AI) 2 “Son of man, take up a lament(AJ) concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
“‘You are like a lion(AK) among the nations;
you are like a monster(AL) in the seas(AM)
thrashing about in your streams,
churning the water with your feet
and muddying the streams.(AN)
3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘With a great throng of people
I will cast my net over you,
and they will haul you up in my net.(AO)
4 I will throw you on the land
and hurl you on the open field.
I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you
and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.(AP)
5 I will spread your flesh on the mountains
and fill the valleys(AQ) with your remains.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood(AR)
all the way to the mountains,
and the ravines will be filled with your flesh.(AS)
7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.(AT)
8 All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken(AU) over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,(AV)
declares the Sovereign Lord.
9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among[a] lands you have not known.
10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with horror because of you
when I brandish my sword(AW) before them.
On the day(AX) of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.(AY)
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword(AZ) of the king of Babylon(BA)
will come against you.(BB)
12 I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty men—
the most ruthless of all nations.(BC)
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
and all her hordes will be overthrown.(BD)
13 I will destroy all her cattle
from beside abundant waters
no longer to be stirred by the foot of man
or muddied by the hooves of cattle.(BE)
14 Then I will let her waters settle
and make her streams flow like oil,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 When I make Egypt desolate
and strip the land of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the Lord.(BF)’
16 “This is the lament(BG) they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Egypt’s Descent Into the Realm of the Dead
17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(BH) 18 “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign(BI) to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit.(BJ) 19 Say to them, ‘Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.’(BK) 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged(BL) off with all her hordes.(BM) 21 From within the realm of the dead(BN) the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, ‘They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised,(BO) with those killed by the sword.’
22 “Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit(BP) and her army lies around her grave.(BQ) All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.
24 “Elam(BR) is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.(BS) All who had spread terror in the land of the living(BT) went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(BU) 25 A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised,(BV) killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.
26 “Meshek and Tubal(BW) are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old,[b](BX) who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war—their swords placed under their heads and their shields[c] resting on their bones—though these warriors also had terrorized the land of the living.
28 “You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.
29 “Edom(BY) is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.(BZ)
30 “All the princes of the north(CA) and all the Sidonians(CB) are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised(CC) with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.(CD)
31 “Pharaoh—he and all his army—will see them and he will be consoled(CE) for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh(CF) and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(CG)
Renewal of Ezekiel’s Call as Watchman
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword(CH) against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,(CI) 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet(CJ) to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning(CK) and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.(CL) 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head.(CM) If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.(CN) 6 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.’(CO)
7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(CP) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(CQ) 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,(CR)’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[d] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(CS) 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so,(CT) they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.(CU)
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(CV) because of[e] them. How then can we live?(CW)”’ 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.(CX) Turn!(CY) Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’(CZ)
12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people,(DA) ‘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.’(DB) 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.(DC) 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(DD) and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge(DE) for a loan, return what they have stolen,(DF) follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die.(DG) 16 None of the sins(DH) that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.(DI)
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,(DJ) they will die for it.(DK) 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.(DL) 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.”(DM)
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(DN) from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!(DO)” 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me,(DP) and he opened my mouth(DQ) before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.(DR)
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, the people living in those ruins(DS) in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many;(DT) surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’(DU) 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat(DV) meat with the blood(DW) still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?(DX) 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things,(DY) and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife.(DZ) 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.(EA) 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains(EB) of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.(EC) 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate(ED) waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’(EE)
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(EF) you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy(EG) for unjust gain.(EH) 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs(EI) with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.(EJ)
33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.(EK)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 32:9 Hebrew; Septuagint bring you into captivity among the nations, / to
- Ezekiel 32:27 Septuagint; Hebrew warriors who were uncircumcised
- Ezekiel 32:27 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text punishment
- Ezekiel 33:8 Or in; also in verse 9
- Ezekiel 33:10 Or away in
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.