Jezekiel 33
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and thou shalt say to them, On whatsoever land I shall bring a sword, and the people of the land take one man of them, and set him for their watchman:
“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you have said to them: When I bring a sword on a land, And the people of the land have taken one man out of their borders, And made him their watchman,
3 and he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and sound an alarm to the people;
And he has seen the sword coming against the land, And has blown with a horn, and has warned the people,
4 and he that hears the sound of the trumpet shall hear [indeed], and [yet] not take heed, and the sword shall come upon him, and overtake him, his blood shall be upon his [own] head.
And the hearer has heard the voice of the horn, and he has not taken warning, And the sword comes in, and takes him away, His blood is on his [own] head.
5 Because he heard the sound of the trumpet, and took no heed, his blood shall be upon him: but the other, because he took heed, has delivered his soul.
The voice of the horn he heard, And he has not taken warning, his blood is on him, And he who took warning has delivered his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword coming, and do not sound the trumpet, and the people do not watch; and the sword come, and take a soul from among them, that [soul] is taken because of its iniquity; but the blood [thereof] will I require at the watchman's hand.
And the watchman, when he sees the sword coming in, And he has not blown with a horn, And the people have not been warned, And a sword comes in, And takes away a soul from them, He is taken away in his iniquity, And I require his blood from the hand of the watchman.
7 And thou, son of man, I have set thee [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear a word from my mouth.
And you, son of man, I gave you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel, And you have heard a word from My mouth, And you have warned them from Me.
8 When I say to the sinner, Thou shalt surely die; [if] thou speak not to warn the wicked from his way, the wicked himself shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
In My saying to the wicked, O wicked one—you surely die, And you have not spoken to warn the wicked from his way, He—the wicked—dies in his iniquity, And I require his blood from your hand.
9 But if thou forewarn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way, he shall die in his ungodliness; but thou hast delivered thine own soul.
And you, when you have warned the wicked of his way, to turn back from it, And he has not turned back from his way, He dies in his iniquity, And you have delivered your soul.
10 And thou, son of man, say to the house of Israel; Thus have ye spoken, saying, Our errors, and our iniquities weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, and how then shall we live?
And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have spoken correctly, saying, Surely our transgressions and our sins [are] on us, And we are wasting away in them, How, then, do we live?
11 Say to them, Thus saith the Lord; [As] I live, I desire not the death of the ungodly, as that the ungodly should turn from his way and live: turn ye heartily from your way; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Say to them, [As] I live—a declaration of Lord YHWH, I do not delight in the death of the wicked, But in the turning of the wicked from his way, and he has lived. Turn back, turn back, from your evil ways! Indeed, why do you die, O house of Israel?
12 Say to the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him, in the day wherein he errs: and the iniquity of the ungodly shall not harm him, in the day wherein he turns from his iniquity, but the righteous [erring] shall not be able to deliver himself.
And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The righteousness of the righteous does not deliver him in the day of his transgression, And the wickedness of the wicked, He does 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.
13 When I say to the righteous, [Thou shalt live; and] he trusts in his righteousness, and shall commit iniquity, none of his righteousnesses shall be remembered; in his unrighteousness which he has wrought, in it shall he die.
In My saying of the righteous: He surely lives, And—he has trusted on his righteousness, And he has done perversity, All his righteous acts are not remembered, And for his perversity that he has done, He dies for it.
14 And when I say to the ungodly, Thou shalt surely die; and he shall turn from his sin, and do judgment and justice,
And in My saying to the wicked: You surely die, And—he has turned back from his sin, And has done judgment and righteousness,
15 and return the pledge, and repay that which he has robbed, [and] walk in the ordinances of life, so as to do no wrong; he shall surely live, and shall not die.
(The wicked restores a pledge, he repays [for] plunder), He has walked in the statutes of life, So as not to do perversity, He surely lives—he does not die.
16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered: because he has wrought judgment and righteousness; by them shall he live.
All his sin—his sins that he has sinned—are not remembered against him, He has done judgment and righteousness, He surely lives.
17 Yet the children of thy people will say, The way of the Lord is not straight: whereas this their way is not straight.
And the sons of your people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As for them—their way is not pondered.
18 When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and shall commit iniquities, then shall he die in them.
In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he has done perversity—he dies for it.
19 And when the sinner turns from his iniquity, and shall do judgment and righteousness, he shall live by them.
And in the turning back of the wicked from his wickedness, And he has done judgment and righteousness—he lives by them.
20 And this is that which ye said, The way of the Lord is [not] straight. I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one for his ways.
And you have said, The way of the Lord is not pondered; I judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”
21 And it came to pass in the tenth year of our captivity, in the twelfth month, on the fifth [day] of the month, [that] one that had escaped from Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is taken.
And it comes to pass, in the twelfth year—in the tenth [month], in the fifth of the month—of our removal, one who is escaped from Jerusalem comes to me, saying, “The city has been struck.”
22 Now the hand of the Lord had come upon me in the evening, before he came; and he opened my mouth, when he came to me in the morning: and my mouth was open, it was no longer kept closed.
And the hand of YHWH has been to me in the evening, before the coming in of the escaped one, and He opens my mouth until [his] coming to me in the morning, and my mouth is opened, and I have not been silent again.
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
24 Son of man, they that inhabit the desolate [places] on the land of Israel say, Abram was one, and he possessed the land: and we are more numerous; to us the land is given for a possession.
“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying, Abraham has been alone—and he possesses the land, and we [are] many—the land has been given to us for a possession.
Therefore say to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: You eat with the blood, And you lift up your eyes to your idols, And you shed blood, Should you then inherit the land?
You have stood on your sword, You have done abomination, You have each defiled the wife of his neighbor, Should you then possess the land?
27 Therefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, [As] I live, surely they that are in the desolate places shall fall by swords and they that are in the open plain shall be given for food to the wild beasts of the field, and them that are in the fortified [cities] and them that are in the caves I will slay with pestilence.
Thus you say to them, Thus said Lord YHWH: [As] I live—do they who [are] in the ruins not fall by the sword? And they who [are] on the face of the field, I have given for food to the beast, And they who are in strongholds and in caves die by pestilence.
28 And I will make the land desert, and the pride of her strength shall perish; and the mountains of Israel shall be made desolate by reason of no man passing through.
And I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And the excellence of its strength has ceased, And mountains of Israel have been desolated, Without anyone passing through.
29 And they shall know that I am the Lord; and I will make their land desert, and it shall be made desolate because of all their abominations which they have wrought.
And they have known that I [am] YHWH, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.
30 And [as for] thee, son of man, the children of thy people are they that speak concerning thee by the walls, and in the porches of the houses, and they talk one to another, saying, Let us come together, and let us hear the [words] that proceed from the Lord.
And you, son of man, The sons of your people who are speaking about you, By the walls, and in openings of the houses, Have spoken with one another, each with his brother, Saying, Please come in, And hear what the word [is] that comes out from YHWH.
31 They approach thee as a people comes together, and sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for [there is] falsehood in their mouth, and their heart [goes] after their pollutions.
And they come in to you as the coming in of a people, And they sit before you—My people, And have heard your words, and they do not do them, For they are making unhealthy loves with their mouth, Their heart is going after their dishonest gain.
32 And thou art to them as a sound of a sweet, well-tuned psaltery, and they will hear thy words, but they will not do them.
And behold, you [are] as a singer of unhealthy loves to them, A beautiful voice, and playing well on an instrument, And they have heard your words, and they are not doing them.
33 But whenever it shall come [to pass], they will say, Behold, it is come: and they shall know that there was a prophet in the midst of them.
And in its coming in—behold, it has come, And they have known that a prophet has been in their midst!”
