Ezekiel 33:1-9

The Voice

Eternal One: ² Son of man, talk with your fellow exiles, and tell them, “If I wage war against a country and the people appoint one of their own to be a lookout, ³ and if the lookout sees an army advancing toward the land and blows a trumpet to warn the people, ^4-5 and if someone hears the alarm and ignores it, allowing that army to come and capture him; then it is his own fault for not taking appropriate action. His blood will be on his own hands. If he had done something, he could have saved his life and the lives of others. ⁶ But if the lookout sees an army advancing and does not sound the alarm to warn the people and if some are captured or killed, then their blood will be on the hands of the lookout.”

⁷ Son of man, I have appointed you as a lookout for the nation of Israel. You must listen to what I have to say, then go and pass My warning on to your countrymen. ⁸ If I have a message for the wicked such as, “Wicked one, you are going to die,” and you don’t warn him to change his ways, then he will surely die because of his wickedness; but I will hold you responsible for his death. ⁹ If you do warn him to change his ways and he doesn’t do anything about it, then he will die because of his wickedness; but you will have saved your own life.