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Ezekiel 33
Lexham English Bible

Ezekiel Appointed as a Watchman and His Responsibility

33 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] speak to your people,[d] and you must say to them, ‘A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows on the horn and he warns the people, 4 and anyone who listens[e] hears the sound of the horn and he does not take warning[f] and the sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his own head. 5 For he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But if he took warning, he saved his life. 6 And as for the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and he does not blow[g] the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and it takes their lives,[h] he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.’

7 “And you, son of man,[i] I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me. 8 When I say[j] to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will certainly die,’ and you did not speak[k] to warn the wicked from his way, he, the wicked, will die by his guilt, but his blood I will seek from your hand. 9 But, you, if you warn the wicked from his way, to turn from it, and he does not turn[l] from his way, he will die by his guilt, and you will have saved your life.

10 “And you, son of man,[m] say to the house of Israel, saying,[n] ‘So you said, saying,[o] “Indeed, our transgressions and our sins are on us, and because of them we are rotting, and how can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As I live,’[p] declares[q] the Lord Yahweh, ‘Surely I have no delight[r] in the death of the wicked, except[s] in the wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil ones, for why should you die, house of Israel?’

12 “So[t] you, son of man,[u] say to your people[v] that the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked will not cause him to stumble[w] on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and the righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin. 13 When I say to the righteous, ‘Certainly he will live,’ and he trusted in[x] his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness[y] will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die. 14 And when I say to the wicked, ‘Certainly you will die,’ but[z] he returns from his sin and he does justice and righteousness— 15 for example, the wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores stolen property,[aa] he goes in the statutes of life so as not to do injustice—certainly he will live; he will not die. 16 All of his sins that he committed,[ab] they will not be remembered against[ac] him, and he did justice and righteousness; certainly he will live.

17 “Yet[ad] your people[ae] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ yet their way is not fair. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die because of it.[af] 19 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and he does justice and righteousness, because of it[ag] he will certainly live![ah] 20 Yet you said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ I will judge you, house of Israel, each person according to his ways.”

21 And then[ai] it was in the twelfth[aj] year, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month of our exile, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying,[ak] “The city was destroyed!” 22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me on the evening before[al] the coming of the survivor, and he opened my mouth before the survivor came to me in the morning,[am] and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer[an] dumb.[ao] 23 And the word of Yahweh came[ap] to me, saying,[aq] 24 “Son of man,[ar] the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was one man, and he took possession of the land, and we are many; the land has been given for[as] us as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You eat blood in your meat, and you raise your eyes to your idols and you pour out blood, and yet you want to take possession of the land?[at] 26 You rely on your sword, you do a detestable thing, and each man defiles[au] the wife of his neighbor, and yet you want to take possession of the land?”’[av]

27 “Thus you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “As I live,[aw] surely[ax] whoever is in the ruins, by the sword they will fall, and whoever is on the surface of the open field, I will give him to the animals[ay] to eat him, and whoever is in the stronghold and in the cave, they will die by the plague. 28 And I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland, and the pride of its strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate with no one traveling through them.”’[az] 29 And they will know that I am Yahweh when I make my land a desolation and a wasteland, because of all of their detestable things that they have done.

30 “And you, son of man,[ba] your people,[bb] the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother saying,[bc] ‘Please come and hear what is the word that is going out from Yahweh.’[bd] 31 And they come to you as people do,[be] and they sit before you,[bf] and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they are showing[bg] passion in their mouth, but their heart is going after ill-gotten gain. 32 Now, look! You are to them like a sensual song,[bh] beautiful of voice and played well on an instrument,[bi] and they hear your words, but they are not doing them.[bj] 33 So[bk] when it comes,[bl] look! It is coming! And then they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 33:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 33:1 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 33:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 33:2 Literally “the children of your people”
  5. Ezekiel 33:4 Literally “the listening”
  6. Ezekiel 33:4 Literally “not he takes warning”
  7. Ezekiel 33:6 Literally “and not he blows on”
  8. Ezekiel 33:6 Literally “it takes from them a life”
  9. Ezekiel 33:7 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  10. Ezekiel 33:8 Literally “At my saying”
  11. Ezekiel 33:8 Literally “and not you spoke”
  12. Ezekiel 33:9 Literally “and not he turns”
  13. Ezekiel 33:10 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  14. Ezekiel 33:10 Literally “to say”
  15. Ezekiel 33:10 Literally “to say”
  16. Ezekiel 33:11 Literally “live I”
  17. Ezekiel 33:11 Literally “declaration of”
  18. Ezekiel 33:11 Literally “if”
  19. Ezekiel 33:11 Literally “for it”
  20. Ezekiel 33:12 Or “And”
  21. Ezekiel 33:12 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  22. Ezekiel 33:12 Literally “the children of your people”
  23. Ezekiel 33:12 Literally “not he will stumbled by it”
  24. Ezekiel 33:13 Or “on”
  25. Ezekiel 33:13 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  26. Ezekiel 33:14 Or “and”
  27. Ezekiel 33:15 Literally “robbed/stolen items”
  28. Ezekiel 33:16 Literally “sins that he sinned”
  29. Ezekiel 33:16 Or “for”
  30. Ezekiel 33:17 Or “And”
  31. Ezekiel 33:17 Literally “the children of your people”
  32. Ezekiel 33:18 Literally “by/in them”
  33. Ezekiel 33:19 Hebrew “them”
  34. Ezekiel 33:19 Literally “he, he will live”
  35. Ezekiel 33:21 Literally “and it happened”
  36. Ezekiel 33:21 Literally “two of ten”
  37. Ezekiel 33:21 Literally “to say”
  38. Ezekiel 33:22 Literally “to the face of”
  39. Ezekiel 33:22 Literally “until coming to me in the morning”
  40. Ezekiel 33:22 Literally “and not I was dumb still”
  41. Ezekiel 33:22 Or “silent” or “speechless”
  42. Ezekiel 33:23 Literally “was”
  43. Ezekiel 33:23 Literally “to say”
  44. Ezekiel 33:24 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  45. Ezekiel 33:24 Or “to”
  46. Ezekiel 33:25 Or “you would take possession of”
  47. Ezekiel 33:26 Literally “a man the wife of neighbor you defile”
  48. Ezekiel 33:26 Or “you would take possession of the land”
  49. Ezekiel 33:27 Literally “I live”
  50. Ezekiel 33:27 Literally “if not”
  51. Ezekiel 33:27 Hebrew “animal”
  52. Ezekiel 33:28 Literally “from there is not someone going over”
  53. Ezekiel 33:30 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  54. Ezekiel 33:30 Literally “the children of your people”
  55. Ezekiel 33:30 Literally “to say”
  56. Ezekiel 33:30 Literally “the going out from with Yahweh”
  57. Ezekiel 33:31 Literally “like the coming of a people”
  58. Ezekiel 33:31 Literally “to the face of you”
  59. Ezekiel 33:31 Or “expressing”
  60. Ezekiel 33:32 Literally “like a song of lust”
  61. Ezekiel 33:32 Literally “doing good to play a music instrument”
  62. Ezekiel 33:32 Literally “and/but doing there is not they them”
  63. Ezekiel 33:33 Or “And”
  64. Ezekiel 33:33 Literally “in/at her coming”
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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

  1. Ezekiel 33:2 Lit. bring a sword
  2. Ezekiel 33:2 Or of the men from their border
  3. Ezekiel 33:3 Lit. that a sword
  4. Ezekiel 33:4 Lit. will be on him
  5. Ezekiel 33:5 Lit. will be on him
  6. Ezekiel 33:5 Lit. have rescued his soul
  7. Ezekiel 33:6 Lit. from the hand of the; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death
  8. Ezekiel 33:7 Lit. from my mouth
  9. Ezekiel 33:7 Lit. warn them
  10. Ezekiel 33:8 Lit. ways
  11. Ezekiel 33:8 Lit. from your hand; i.e. as if the sentinel were responsible for the death
  12. Ezekiel 33:9 Lit. way
  13. Ezekiel 33:9 Lit. have rescued your soul
  14. Ezekiel 33:11 Lit. way
  15. Ezekiel 33:12 Lit. from stumbling
  16. Ezekiel 33:17 Lit. saying, ‘The way of
  17. Ezekiel 33:17 The Heb. lacks of living
  18. Ezekiel 33:20 Lit. saying, ‘The way of
  19. Ezekiel 33:22 Lit. time he
  20. Ezekiel 33:22 The Heb. lacks to him
  21. Ezekiel 33:27 Lit. die by the sword
  22. Ezekiel 33:31 The Heb. lacks what you say
  23. Ezekiel 33:31 Lit. because their lust is in their mouths
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Ezekiel 33
New International Version

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(A) against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,(B) 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet(C) to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning(D) and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.(E) 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head.(F) If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.(G) 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.’(H)

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(I) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(J) 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,(K)’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(L) 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so,(M) they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.(N)

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(O) because of[b] them. How then can we live?(P)”’ 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.(Q) Turn!(R) Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’(S)

12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people,(T) ‘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.’(U) 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.(V) 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(W) and right— 15 if they give back what they took in pledge(X) for a loan, return what they have stolen,(Y) follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die.(Z) 16 None of the sins(AA) that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.(AB)

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,(AC) they will die for it.(AD) 19 And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.(AE) 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.”(AF)

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(AG) from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!(AH)” 22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the Lord was on me,(AI) and he opened my mouth(AJ) before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.(AK)

23 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, the people living in those ruins(AL) in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many;(AM) surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’(AN) 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat(AO) meat with the blood(AP) still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?(AQ) 26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things,(AR) and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife.(AS) 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.(AT) 28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains(AU) of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.(AV) 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate(AW) waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’(AX)

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(AY) you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy(AZ) for unjust gain.(BA) 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs(BB) with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.(BC)

33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.(BD)”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 33:8 Or in; also in verse 9
  2. Ezekiel 33:10 Or away in
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