Ezekiel 33

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

2 Son of man, speak to the sons of thy people, and say to 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,

3 if, when he sees the sword come upon the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people,

4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and takes no warning, if the sword comes, and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took no warning; his blood shall be upon him. Whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.

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 any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at the watchman's hand.

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

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

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

10 And thou, son of man, say to 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?

11 Say to them, As I live, says the lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but that the wicked man turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

12 And thou, son of man, say to the sons of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression. And as for the wickedness of the wicked man, he shall not fall by it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, nor shall he who is righteous be able to live by it in the day that he sins.

13 When I say to the righteous man, that he shall surely live, if he trusts his righteousness, and commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his iniquity that he has committed, in it he shall die.

14 Again, when I say to the wicked man, Thou shall surely die, if he turns from his sin, and does that which is lawful and right,

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

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

17 Yet the sons of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equitable. But as for them, their way is not equitable.

18 When the righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, he shall even die in it.

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

20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equitable. O house of Israel, I will judge you everyone according to his ways.

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

22 Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he who 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 mute.

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

24 Son of man, those who 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.

25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. And shall ye possess the land?

26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every man his neighbor's wife. And shall ye possess the land?

27 Thus shall thou say to them. Thus says the lord Jehovah: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall 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 shall die of the pestilence.

28 And 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.

29 Then they shall 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.

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

31 And they come to thee as the people come, and they sit before thee as my people. And they hear thy words, but do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.

32 And, lo, thou are to them as a very lovely song of he who has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument. For they hear thy words, but they do not do them.

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