Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Ezekiel Is Called to Be a Watchman

33 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ² “Son of man, speak to your people. Tell them, ‘Suppose I bring war on this country, and the people of this country choose one of their men and make him their watchman. ³ If he sees the enemy coming to attack the country, he will blow his horn to warn the people. ⁴ If the people hear the horn and ignore the warning and the enemy comes and takes them, they will be responsible for their own deaths. ⁵ They heard the sound of the horn but ignored its warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had taken the warning, they would have saved themselves.

⁶ “ ‘But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t blow his horn to warn the people and the enemy comes and kills someone, that watchman must die because of his sin. I will hold him responsible for their deaths.’

²⁹ “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God’s approval. ³⁰ Then you say, ‘If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!

³³ “You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. ³⁵ As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.