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Ezekiel 33
English Standard Version
Ezekiel 33
English Standard Version
Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman
33 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, speak to (B)your people and say to them, If (C)I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their (D)watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and (E)blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, (F)his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 (G)He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 (H)But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, (I)that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
7 (J)“So you, (K)son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. (L)Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 (M)If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, (N)and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, (O)that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 (P)But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, (Q)that person shall die in his iniquity, (R)but you will have delivered your soul.
Why Will You Die, Israel?
10 “And you, (S)son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and (T)we rot away because of them. (U)How then can we live?’ 11 Say to them, (V)As I live, declares the Lord God, (W)I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; (X)turn back, turn back from your evil ways, (Y)for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12 (Z)“And you, son of man, say to (AA)your people, (AB)The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, (AC)and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, (AD)and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness[a] when he sins. 13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet (AE)if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14 Again, (AF)though I say to the wicked, (AG)‘You shall surely die,’ yet (AH)if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15 if the wicked (AI)restores the pledge, (AJ)gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks (AK)in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 (AL)None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
17 “Yet (AM)your people say, (AN)‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just. 18 (AO)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. 19 And (AP)when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. 20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, (AQ)I will judge each of you according to his ways.”
Jerusalem Struck Down
21 In the (AR)twelfth year (AS)of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, (AT)a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, (AU)“The city has been struck down.” 22 (AV)Now (AW)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.
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 (AX)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these (AY)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, (AZ)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but (BA)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ 25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: (BB)You eat flesh with the blood and (BC)lift up your eyes to your idols and (BD)shed blood; shall you then possess the land? 26 (BE)You rely on the sword, (BF)you commit abominations, and (BG)each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? 27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: (BH)As I live, surely those who are in (BI)the waste places shall fall by (BJ)the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to (BK)the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in (BL)strongholds and in caves shall die by (BM)pestilence. 28 (BN)And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and (BO)her proud might shall come to an end, and (BP)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. 29 (BQ)Then they will 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.
30 “As for you, (BR)son of man, (BS)your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 (BT)And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for (BU)with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and (BV)plays[b] well on an instrument, for (BW)they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 (BX)When this comes—and come it will!—(BY)then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:12 Hebrew by it
- Ezekiel 33:32 Hebrew like the singing of lustful songs with a beautiful voice and one who plays
Ezekiel 33
Common English Bible
Ezekiel 33
Common English Bible
The lookout
33 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, speak to your people and say to them: Suppose I bring a sword against a country, and the people of the land take a certain person from their assembly and make him their lookout. 3 When he sees the sword coming against the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people. 4 If they hear the sound of the trumpet but don’t heed the warning, when the sword comes and they are taken away, they are responsible for their blood. 5 They heard the sound of the trumpet but didn’t heed the warning, so their blood is on them. If they had paid attention to the warning, they would have saved their lives. 6 If the lookout sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the trumpet to warn the people, when the sword comes and takes away any of them, they are taken away in their sin, but I’ll hold the lookout responsible for their blood.
7 You, human one, I’ve made you a lookout for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear me speaking, you must give them warning from me. 8 If I pronounce a death sentence on wicked people, and you don’t warn them to turn from their way, they will die in their guilt, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. 9 But suppose you do warn the wicked of their ways so that they might turn from them. If they don’t turn from their ways, they will die in their guilt, but you will save your life.
10 You, human one, say to the house of Israel: This is what all of you are saying: “How our transgressions and our sins weigh on us! We waste away because of them. How can we live?” 11 Say to them, This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? If the wicked turn from their ways, they will live. Turn, completely turn from your wicked ways! Why should you die, house of Israel?
12 You, human one, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous doesn’t rescue them when they begin to sin. Nor does the wickedness of the wicked make them stumble if they turn from their wickedness. If the righteous sin, their righteousness won’t protect them. 13 Even if I’ve told the righteous they will live, none of their righteous deeds will be remembered if they trust in their righteousness and do wrong. They will die because of their evil deeds. 14 And even if I have pronounced a death sentence on the wicked, if they turn from sin and do what is just and right— 15 if they return pledges, make restitution for robbery, and walk in life-giving regulations in order not to sin—they will live and not die. 16 None of the sins they’ve committed will be remembered against them. They’ve done what is just and right, and they will live.
17 Yet your people say, “My Lord’s way doesn’t measure up.” Isn’t it their ways that don’t measure up? 18 When the righteous turn from their righteousness to do wrong, they will die because of it. 19 And when the wicked turn from their wickedness to do what is just and right, it is for that reason they will live. 20 Yet you say, “My Lord’s way doesn’t measure up.” I judge each one of you according to your ways, house of Israel!
News from Jerusalem
21 In the twelfth year, on the fifth day of the tenth month of our exile, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has fallen!” 22 The Lord’s power was with me in the evening before the survivor arrived, and just before he arrived in the morning, God opened my mouth. So my mouth was opened, and I was no longer speechless.
23 The Lord’s word came to me: 24 Human one, those who live among those ruins in Israel’s fertile land are saying, “Abraham was just one man, and he inherited the land. We are many, so certainly the land has been given to us as an inheritance.”
25 So say to them, The Lord God proclaims: You eat with the blood, you lift your eyes to the idols, and you shed blood. Should you inherit the land? 26 You live by the sword, you observe detestable practices, and every one of you commits adultery.[a] Should you inherit the land?
27 Say to them, The Lord God proclaims: As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the countryside I will give to the wild beasts to consume, and those in the strongholds and caves will die of plague. 28 I will make the land an uninhabitable waste. Its proud strength will come to an end, and Israel’s highlands will become so deserted that no one will cross through them. 29 They will know that I am the Lord when I make the land an uninhabitable waste because of all their detestable practices.
A fickle audience
30 As for you, human one, your people talk about you beside the walls and in their doorways. One by one, they say to each other, “Let’s go hear what sort of message has come from the Lord.” 31 So they come to you as people do, and they sit before you as my people. They listen to your words, but they refuse to do them. Though they speak of their longing[b] for me, they act out of their own interests and opinions. 32 To them you are like a singer of love songs with a lovely voice and skilled technique. They listen to your words, but no one does them. 33 When this comes—and it is certainly coming—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 33:26 Or defiles his neighbor's wife
- Ezekiel 33:31 Or love songs
Ezekiel 33
New International Version
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
- Ezekiel 33:8 Or in; also in verse 9
- Ezekiel 33:10 Or away in
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.