Ezekiel 33
New American Standard Bible
The Watchman’s Duty
33 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the (A)sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and (B)blows the [a]horn and warns the people, 4 then [b]someone who hears the sound of the horn but (C)does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his (D)blood will be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the horn but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have (E)saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is (F)taken away for his wrongdoing; but I will [c]require his (G)blood from the watchman’s hand.’
7 “Now as for you, son of man, I have [d](H)appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a [e]message from My mouth and give them a (I)warning from Me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will (J)certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked about his way, that wicked person shall die for his wrongdoing, but I will [f]require his blood from your hand. 9 But if you on your part warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he (K)does not turn from his way, he will die for his wrongdoing, but you have (L)saved your life.
10 “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have [g]said: “Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are (M)rotting away in them; (N)how then can we [h]survive?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘(O)As I live!’ declares the Lord [i]God, ‘I take (P)no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked (Q)turn from his way and live. (R)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?’ 12 And you, son of man, say to [j]your fellow citizens, ‘The (S)righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will (T)not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live [k]by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ 13 When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he (U)commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die. 14 But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he (V)turns from his sin and practices (W)justice and righteousness, 15 if a wicked person returns a pledge, (X)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the (Y)statutes [l]which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 16 (Z)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.
17 “Yet [m]your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and (AA)commits injustice, then he shall die in [n]it. 19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. 20 Yet you say, ‘(AB)The way of the Lord is not right.’ I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.”
Word of Jerusalem’s Capture
21 Now (AC)in the (AD)twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “(AE)The city has been [o]taken.” 22 Now the (AF)hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the survivors came. And He (AG)opened my mouth [p]at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was (AH)opened and I was no longer [q]speechless.
23 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, they who (AI)live in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘(AJ)Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to (AK)us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “You eat meat with the (AL)blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. (AM)Should you then possess the land? 26 You [r](AN)rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”’ 27 You shall say this to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: “As I live, those who are in the places of ruins certainly will (AO)fall by the sword, and whoever is in the [s]open field I will give to the animals to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the (AP)caves will die of plague. 28 And I will (AQ)make the land a desolation and a waste, and the (AR)pride of her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be deserted so that no one will pass through. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’
30 “But as for you, son of man, [t]your fellow citizens who talk with one another about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak one with another, each with his brother, saying, ‘(AS)Come now and hear what the [u]message is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them; for they do the lustful desires expressed by their (AT)mouth, and their heart follows their unlawful (AU)gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a (AV)beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. 33 So when it (AW)comes—[v]as it certainly will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:3 Heb shofar; i.e., ram’s horn
- Ezekiel 33:4 Lit the one who hears the sound...hears it but
- Ezekiel 33:6 I.e., hold the watchman responsible
- Ezekiel 33:7 Or given
- Ezekiel 33:7 Lit word
- Ezekiel 33:8 I.e., hold you responsible
- Ezekiel 33:10 Lit said, saying
- Ezekiel 33:10 Lit live
- Ezekiel 33:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 33:12 Lit the sons of your people
- Ezekiel 33:12 Lit by it
- Ezekiel 33:15 Lit of life
- Ezekiel 33:17 Lit the sons of your people
- Ezekiel 33:18 Lit them
- Ezekiel 33:21 Lit struck
- Ezekiel 33:22 Lit until he came
- Ezekiel 33:22 Or mute
- Ezekiel 33:26 Lit stand
- Ezekiel 33:27 Lit faces of the field
- Ezekiel 33:30 Lit the sons of your people
- Ezekiel 33:30 Lit word
- Ezekiel 33:33 Lit behold, it is coming
Ezekiel 33
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ezekiel, Israel’s Sentry
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 O Mortal, speak to your people and say to them: If I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take one of their number as their sentinel,(A) 3 and if the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,(B) 4 then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads.(C) 5 They heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; their blood shall be upon themselves. But if they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives.(D) 6 But if the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any of them, they are taken away in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at the sentinel’s hand.(E)
7 So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.(F) 8 If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.(G)
God’s Justice and Mercy
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel: Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?”(H) 11 Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?(I) 12 And you, mortal, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by their righteousness[a] when they sin.(J) 13 Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.(K) 14 Again, though I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” yet if they turn from their sin and do what is lawful and right(L)— 15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity—they shall surely live; they shall not die.(M) 16 None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right; they shall surely live.(N)
17 Yet your people say, “The way of the Lord is not just,” when it is their own way that is not just. 18 When the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it.[b](O) 19 And when the wicked turn from their wickedness and do what is lawful and right, they shall live by it.[c] 20 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” O house of Israel, I will judge all of you according to your ways!(P)
The Fall of Jerusalem
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, someone who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen.”(Q) 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came, and he opened my mouth when the fugitive came in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.(R)
The Survivors in Judah
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 Mortal, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, “Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land, but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.”(S) 25 Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?(T) 26 You depend on your swords, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?(U) 27 Say this to them: Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and those who are in the open field I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.(V) 28 I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and its proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.(W) 29 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.(X)
30 As for you, mortal, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses say to one another, each to a neighbor, “Come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.” 31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not obey them. For flattery is on their lips, but their heart is set on their gain.[d](Y) 32 To them you are like a singer of love songs,[e] one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 When this comes—and come it will!—then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.(Z)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.