Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me: (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, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and (E)blows the trumpet and warns the people, 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. (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. (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.

(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. (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. (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.

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Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman

33 Once again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

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