Ezekiel 33

¹And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;

³if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

⁴then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.

⁶But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

⁷So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

⁸When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.

⁹Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.

¹⁰And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

¹¹Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

¹²And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.

¹³When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in his iniquity that he hath committed, therein shall he die.

¹⁴Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

¹⁵if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

¹⁶None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

¹⁷Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

¹⁸When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein.

¹⁹And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

²⁰Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

²¹And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.

²²Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.

²³And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

²⁴Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.

²⁵Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?

²⁶Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife: and shall ye possess the land?

²⁷Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.

²⁸And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.

²⁹Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.

³⁰And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.

³¹And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.

³²And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

³³And when this cometh to pass (behold, it cometh), then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

Ezekiel 33

¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

²`Son of man, speak unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast said unto them: A landwhen I bring in against it a sword, And the people of the land have taken one man out of their borders, And made him to them for a watchman.

³And he hath seen the sword coming against the land, And hath blown with a trumpet, and hath warned the people,

⁴And the hearer hath heard the voice of the trumpet, and he hath not taken warning, And come in doth the sword, and taketh him away, His blood is on his head.

⁵The voice of the trumpet he heard, And he hath not taken warning, his blood is on him, And he who took warning his soul hath delivered.

⁶And the watchman, when he seeth the sword coming in, And he hath not blown with a trumpet, And the people hath not been warned, And come in doth a sword, And taketh away of thema soul, He in his iniquity is taken away, And his blood from the hand of the watchman I require.

⁷And thou, son of man, A watchman I gave thee to the house of Israel, And thou hast heard from My mouth a word, And thou hast warned them from Me.

⁸In My saying to the wicked, O wicked onethou dost surely die, And thou hast not spoken to warn the wicked from his way, Hethe wickedin his iniquity doth die, And his blood from thy hand I require.

⁹And thou, when thou hast warned the wicked of his way, to turn back from it, And he hath not turned back from his way, He in his iniquity doth die, And thou thy soul hast delivered.

¹⁰And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Rightly ye have spoken, saying: Surely our transgressions and our sins are on us, And in them we are wasting away, How, then, do we live?

¹¹Say unto them, I livean affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I delight not in the death of the wicked, Butin the turning of the wicked from his way, And he hath lived, Turn back, turn back, from your evil ways, Yea, why do ye die, O house of Israel?

¹²And thou, son of man, say unto the sons of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous doth not deliver him in the day of his transgression, And the wickedness of the wicked, He doth not stumble for it in the day of his turning from his wickedness, And the righteous is not able to live in it in the day of his sinning.

¹³In My saying of the righteous: He surely liveth, Andhe hath trusted on his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, All his righteous acts are not remembered, And for his perversity that he hath done, For it he doth die.

¹⁴And in My saying to the wicked: Thou surely diest, Andhe hath turned back from his sin, And hath done judgment and righteousness,

¹⁵(The pledge the wicked restoreth, plunder he repayeth,) In the statutes of life he hath walked, So as not to do perversity, He surely livethhe doth not die.

¹⁶None of his sin that he hath sinned is remembered to him, Judgment and righteousness he hath done, He doth surely live.

¹⁷And the sons of thy people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As to themtheir way is not pondered.

¹⁸In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversityhe dieth for it.

¹⁹And in the turning back of the wicked from his wickedness, And he hath done judgment and righteousness, by them he liveth.

²⁰And ye have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, Each according to his ways do I judge you, O house of Israel.'

²¹And it cometh to pass, in the twelfth yearin the tenth month , in the fifth of the monthof our removal, come in unto me doth one who is escaped from Jerusalem, saying, `The city hath been smitten.'

²²And the hand of Jehovah hath been unto me in the evening, before the coming in of the escaped one, and He openeth my mouth till the coming in unto me in the morning, and opened is my mouth, and I have not been silent again.

²³And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

²⁴`Son of man, the inhabitants of these wastes on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying: Alone hath been Abrahamand he possesseth the land, and we are manyto us hath the land been given for a possession.

²⁵Therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: With the blood ye do eat, And your eyes ye lift up unto your idols, And blood ye shed, and the land ye inherit!

²⁶Ye have stood on your sword, Ye have done abomination, Each the wife of his neighbour ye have defiled, And the land ye possess!

²⁷Thus dost thou say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I livedo not they who are in the wastes by the sword fall? And they who are on the face of the field, To the beast I have given for food, And they who are in strongholds and in caves by pestilence die.

²⁸And I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And ceased hath the excellency of its strength, And desolated have been mountains of Israel, Without any one passing through.

²⁹And they have known that I am Jehovah, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.

³⁰And thou, son of man, the sons of thy people who are speaking about thee, By the walls, and in openings of the houses, Have spoken one with another, each with his brother, Saying: Come in, I pray you, And hear what is the word that cometh out from Jehovah.

³¹And they come in unto thee as the coming in of a people, And they sit before theeMy people, And have heard thy words, and they do them not, For doting loves with their mouth they are making, After their dishonest gain their heart is going.

³²And lo, thou art to them as a singer of doting loves, A pleasant voice, and playing well on an instrument, And they have heard thy words, and they are not doing them.

³³And in its coming inlo, it hath come, And they have known that a prophet hath been in their midst!'