Ezekiel 33:18-26

English Standard Version

¹⁸^(A)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. ¹⁹And ^(B)when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. ²⁰Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, ^(C)I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Jerusalem Struck Down

²¹In the ^(D)twelfth year ^(E)of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(F)a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(G)“The city has been struck down.” ²²^(H)Now ^(I)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

²³The word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴^(J)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ^(K)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ^(L)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but ^(M)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ ²⁵Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(N)You eat flesh with the blood and ^(O)lift up your eyes to your idols and ^(P)shed blood; shall you then possess the land? ²⁶^(Q)You rely on the sword, ^(R)you commit abominations, and ^(S)each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land?