Ezekiel 33
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his trumpet(A) to warn the people. 4 Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning,(B) and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but ignored the warning, his blood is on his own hands.[a] If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the trumpet, so that the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives, then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.
7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel.(C) When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. 8 If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’(D) but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 9 But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn’t turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
10 “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have said this, ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them!(E) How then can we survive?’(F) 11 Tell them: As I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live.(G) Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?
12 “Now, son of man, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won’t be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins. 13 When I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.(H)
14 “So when I tell the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right— 15 he returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life(I) without practicing iniquity—he will certainly live; he will not die. 16 None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.(J)
17 “But your people say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair,’(K) even though it is their own way that isn’t fair. 18 When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die on account of this. 19 But if a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this. 20 Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.”
The News of Jerusalem’s Fall
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!” 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.(L)
Israel’s Continued Rebellion
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, those who live in the[b] ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one person,(M) yet he received possession of the land.(N) But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’(O) 25 Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with blood in it,(P) raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land? 26 You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then receive possession of the land?(Q)
27 “Tell them this: This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.(R) 28 I will make the land a desolate waste,(S) and its proud strength will come to an end.(T) The mountains of Israel(U) will become desolate, with no one passing through. 29 They will know that I am Yahweh when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable acts they have committed.
30 “Now, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord!’ 31 So My people come to you in crowds,[c] sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest profit. 32 Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don’t obey them. 33 Yet when it comes(V)—and it will definitely come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:5 Lit on him
- Ezekiel 33:24 Lit these
- Ezekiel 33:31 Lit you like the coming of a people
Ezekiel 33
International Standard Version
Warnings for Watchmen
33 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, speak to your nation’s children and tell them: ‘If I bring war[a] to a land, and the people of that land appoint one of their conscripted men[b] to serve as a sentinel, 3 and if he notices that violence[c] is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.[d] 5 After all, he heard the alarm sounding, but did not heed the warning, so his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.[e] If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved himself.[f] 6 If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I’ll seek retribution for their shed blood from the[g] one who was acting as sentinel.’”
Warning for Ezekiel
7 “Now as for you, Son of Man, I’ve established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me,[h] you are to warn the people[i] from me. 8 If I should say to a certain wicked person, ‘You wicked man, you’re certainly about to die,’ but you don’t warn him to turn from his wicked behavior,[j] he’ll die in his guilt, but I’ll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you.[k] 9 However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior[l] and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself.”[m]
God Hates the Death of the Wicked
10 “‘Now, Son of Man, tell this to the house of Israel:
‘You keep saying, “Our crimes and sins burden us so much that we’re rotting away, so how can we keep on living?”’
11 “Tell them, ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior[n] and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?’”
Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness
12 “And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous won’t save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won’t keep them from remaining away[o] when they’re turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.’
13 “If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.
14 “If I tell the wicked person that he will certainly die, if he turns from his sin and acts with justice and righteousness, 15 returning what has been placed as collateral for a loan, paying back what he has taken, following the regulations that promote life, and committing no iniquity, he will certainly live, and not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. Since he did what is just and right, he will certainly live.
17 “Nevertheless, your people’s children keep saying, ‘Living life the Lord’s way[p] isn’t right,’ when all the while it is their way of living[q] that isn’t right. 18 When a righteous man forsakes his own righteousness and commits evil acts, he will die because of those acts, 19 and when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is just and right, he will certainly live because of that. 20 “And yet you keep saying, ‘Living life[r] the Lord’s way isn’t right,’ But I will judge every one of you according to the way you live, you house of Israel!”
False Reliance on Abraham’s Heritage
21 On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, a fugitive who had escaped from Jerusalem came and informed me, “The city has been destroyed.”
22 Now the hand of the Lord had been touching me the evening before that fugitive arrived, so the Lord had given me something to say by the time the messenger[s] arrived the next morning. He opened my mouth and I no longer had nothing to say to him.[t] 23 As a result, this message came to me from the Lord:
24 “Son of Man, those who are living among these ruins of the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, but he was able to possess the land! As for us, we’re a multitude, and the land has been given to us as an inheritance.’ 25 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “You keep eating flesh along with its blood, you keep looking to your idols, and you keep shedding blood, and you’re going to take possession of the land? 26 You keep trusting in your weapons, you continue to commit loathsome deeds, men keep defiling their neighbors’ wives, and you’re going to take possession of the land?’
27 “Tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord God says: “As certainly as I’m alive and living, those who live in the wastelands are certain to die violently,[u] I’ll give those who die in the open fields to the wild animals for food, and whoever takes refuge in caves and fortified places will die of diseases. 28 Then I’ll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them.” 29 ‘Then they’ll learn that I am the Lord, when I’ve turned their land into a desolate wasteland because of all of the loathsome deeds that they’ve committed.’”
The Disobedient Exiles of Babylon
30 “Now as for you, Son of Man, your nation’s children keep gathering together to talk about you beside the walls and at the doorway to their houses. Everyone tells one another, ‘Please come! Let’s go hear what the Lord has to say!’ 31 Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say—[v] because they’re seeking only their own desires,[w] they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests. 32 As far as they are concerned, you sing romantic songs with a beautiful voice and play a musical instrument well. They’ll listen to what you have to say, but they won’t put it into practice! 33 When all of this comes about—and you can be sure that it will!—they’ll learn that a prophet has been in their midst.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:2 Lit. bring a sword
- Ezekiel 33:2 Or of the men from their border
- Ezekiel 33:3 Lit. that a sword
- Ezekiel 33:4 Lit. will be on him
- Ezekiel 33:5 Lit. will be on him
- Ezekiel 33:5 Lit. have rescued his soul
- Ezekiel 33:6 Lit. from the hand of the; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death
- Ezekiel 33:7 Lit. from my mouth
- Ezekiel 33:7 Lit. warn them
- Ezekiel 33:8 Lit. ways
- Ezekiel 33:8 Lit. from your hand; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death
- Ezekiel 33:9 Lit. way
- Ezekiel 33:9 Lit. have rescued your soul
- Ezekiel 33:11 Lit. way
- Ezekiel 33:12 Lit. from stumbling
- Ezekiel 33:17 Lit. saying, ‘The way of
- Ezekiel 33:17 The Heb. lacks of living
- Ezekiel 33:20 Lit. saying, ‘The way of
- Ezekiel 33:22 Lit. time he
- Ezekiel 33:22 The Heb. lacks to him
- Ezekiel 33:27 Lit. die by the sword
- Ezekiel 33:31 The Heb. lacks what you say
- Ezekiel 33:31 Lit. because their lust is in their mouths
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