33:1 The word of the LORD came to me:
33:2 “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,
33:3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people,
33:4 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.
33:5 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.
33:6 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.’
33:7 “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.
33:8 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.
33:9 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.
33:10 “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?” ‘
33:11 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?’
33:12 “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.’
33:13 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.
33:14 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–
33:15 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.
33:16 None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
33:17 “Yet your countrymen say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.
33:18 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it.
33:19 And if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by doing so.
33:20 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.”
33:21 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!”
33:22 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.
33:23 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
33:24 “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.’
33:25 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?
33:26 You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
33:27 “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.
33:28 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.
33:29 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.’
33:30 “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.’
33:31 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.
33:32 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.
33:33 “When all this comes true–and it surely will–then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
33:1 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, Whenever I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from their midst and set him up as their watchman,
33:3 And when he sees the sword come upon the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people;
33:4 Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and ignores the warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and ignored the warning; his own blood will be on him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword come and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes someone away from them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
33:7 It is you, O son of man, whom I have appointed as a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore when you hear the word from My mouth, give them warning from Me.
33:8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
33:9 Yet if you warn the wicked man of his way to turn from it and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, and you have delivered your soul.
33:10 And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, This is what you speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and because of them we are wasting away. How then can we live?
33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn away from his way and live. Turn away, turn away from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
33:12 And you, son of man, say to the children of your people, The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him on the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked will not stumble him on the day he turns away from his wickedness. The righteous cannot be kept alive just because of his righteousness on the day he sins.
33:13 When I say concerning the righteous man, He will surely live, but if he has confidence in his righteousness and practices iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered. As for his iniquity that he practiced, in it he will die.
33:14 Again, when I say to the wicked man, You will surely die, but if he turns away from his sin and practices justice and righteousness ?
33:15 If the wicked man restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he took in robbery, walks in the statutes of life, practicing no iniquity ? he will surely live; he will not die.
33:16 None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him; he has practiced justice and righteousness; he will surely live.
33:17 Yet the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not fair; but as for them, their way is not fair.
33:18 When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will even die in it.
33:19 And when a wicked man turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.
33:20 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair. O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his ways.
33:21 And in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city has been struck down.
33:22 Now the hand of Jehovah had come upon me in the evening, before the coming of the one who had escaped; and He had opened my mouth before he came to me in the morning. Therefore my mouth was opened, and I was no longer dumb.
33:23 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
33:24 Son of man, the inhabitants of those ruined places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one person, and he was given the land as an inheritance; but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for an inheritance.
33:25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, You eat meat with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood. Will you indeed possess the land?
33:26 You depend on your sword; you have committed abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you indeed possess the land?
33:27 Thus will you say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, As I live, surely those who are in the ruined places will fall by the sword, and he who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves will die of pestilence.
33:28 And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and the pride of her strength will cease, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate without anyone passing through.
33:29 Then will they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste, because of all their abominations which they have committed.
33:30 And as for you, son of man, the children of your people talk about you by the walls and in the entrances of the houses and speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, Come now, and hear what is the word that comes forth from Jehovah.
33:31 And they come to you just as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words but do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
33:32 And indeed you are to them like a very lovely song of one with a pleasant voice, who can play an instrument well; for they hear your words but do not do them.
33:33 And when this comes about ? indeed it comes ? then they will know that a prophet has been among them.