Ezekiel 33

Ezekiel a Watchman

1 The word of the LORD came to me:2 “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people,4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head.5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself.

6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
10 “Son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” ’

11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’
12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.’13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.14 And if I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right—15 if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die.

16 None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
17 “Yet your countrymen say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.18 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it.19 And if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by doing so.

20 Yet, O house of Israel, you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his own ways.”

Jerusalem's Fall Explained

21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”

22 Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.
23 Then the word of the LORD came to me:24 “Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’25 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?

26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?’
27 “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague.28 I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.

29 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’
30 “As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.

32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

EZEKIEL 33

The [Lord] Appoints Ezekiel //To Stand Watch

(Ezekiel 3.16-21)

1 The [Lord] said:

2 Ezekiel, son of man, warn your people by saying:
Someday, I, the [Lord], may send an enemy to invade a country. And suppose its people choose someone to stand watch 3 and to sound a warning signal when the enemy is seen coming.

4-5 If any of these people hear the signal and ignore it, they will be killed in battle. But it will be their own fault, because they could have escaped if they had paid attention.

6 But suppose the person watching fails to sound the warning signal. The enemy will attack and kill some of the sinful people in that country, and I, the [Lord], will hold that person responsible for their death.
7 Ezekiel, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 8 When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways. But if you refuse to warn them, you are responsible for their death.

9 If you do warn them, and they keep sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

The [Lord] Is Always Fair

(Ezekiel 18.21-30)

10 The [Lord] said:
Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me.

11 Tell them that as surely as I am the living [Lord] God, I don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live. So if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me.

12 Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won't be punished.

13 Suppose I promise good people that they will live, then later they start sinning and believe they will be saved by the good they did in the past. These people will certainly be put to death because of their sins. Their good deeds will be forgotten.
14 Suppose I warn wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and they stop sinning and start doing right. 15 For example, they need to return anything they have taken as security for a loan and anything they have stolen. Then if they stop doing evil and start obeying my Law, they will live.

16 Their past sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they have done right.
17 Ezekiel, your people accuse me of being unfair. But they are the ones who are unfair. 18 If good people start doing evil, they will be put to death, because they have sinned. 19 And if wicked people stop sinning and start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment.

20 But the Israelites still think I am unfair. So warn them that they will be punished for what they have done.

The News of Jerusalem's Fall

21  t Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, a refugee who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me on the fifth day of the tenth month.t He told me that the city had fallen.

22 The evening before this man arrived at my house, the [Lord] had taken control of me. So when the man came to me the next morning, I could once again speak.t

What Will Happen //to Those Left in Israel?

23 Then the [Lord] said:

24 Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in the ruined cities of Israel are saying, “Abraham was just one man, and the [Lord] gave him this whole land of Israel. There are many of us, and so this land must be ours.”

25 So, Ezekiel, tell them I am saying:
How can you think the land is still yours? You eat meat with blood in it and worship idols. You commit murder

26 and spread violence throughout the land. Everything you do is wicked; you are even unfaithful in marriage. And you claim the land is yours!
27 As surely as I am the living [Lord] God, you people in the ruined cities will be killed in battle. Those of you living in the countryside will be eaten by wild animals, and those hiding in caves and on rocky cliffs will die from deadly diseases. 28 I will make the whole country an empty wasteland and crush the power in which you take such pride. Even the mountains will be bare, and no one will try to cross them.

29 I will punish you because of your sins, and I will turn your nation into a barren desert. Then you will know that I am the [Lord].

The People Listen, //but Don't Change

The [Lord] said:

32 They treat you as though you were merely singing love songs or playing music. They listen, but don't do anything you say.
33 Soon they will be punished, just as you warned, and they will know that a prophet has been among them.