16 Now (A)at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a (B)watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, (C)warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his (D)blood I will require from your hand. 19 However if you have (E)warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have (F)saved yourself. 20 Again, (G)when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an (H)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. 21 However, if you have (I)warned [a]the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:21 Lit him, the righteous

16 At the end of the seven days, the Lord’s word came to me: 17 Human one, I’ve made you a lookout for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from me, deliver my warning. 18 If I declare that the wicked will die but you don’t warn them, if you say nothing to warn them from their wicked ways so that they might live, they will die because of their guilt, but I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 19 If you do warn the wicked and they don’t turn from their wickedness or their wicked ways, they will die because of their guilt, but you will save your life.

20 Or suppose righteous people turn away from doing the right thing. If they act dishonestly, and I make them stumble because of it, they will die because you didn’t warn them of their sin. Their righteous deeds won’t be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 21 But if you do warn the righteous not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will be declared righteous. Their lives will be preserved because they heeded the warning, and you will save your life.

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