Ezekiel 33

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

2 Son 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 one man from among them all, 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 if he see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

And he has seen the sword coming against the land, And has blown with a horn, and has warned the people,

4 then 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.

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 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood is upon him: whereas had he taken warning, he would have 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 blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take a person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood 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 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.

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 unto the wicked, Wicked [man], thou shalt certainly die; and thou speakest not to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy 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 warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy 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 unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should 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 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?

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 And 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 the righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.

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 that he shall certainly live, and he trusteth to his righteousness and doeth what is wrong, none of his righteous acts shall be remembered; but in his unrighteousness which he hath done, 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 unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die, and he turneth from his sin, and doeth 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 if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, doing nothing that is wrong; he shall certainly live, he 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 hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done judgment and justice; he shall certainly 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 say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

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 turneth from his righteousness, and doeth what is wrong, then he shall die therein.

In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he has done perversity—he dies for it.

19 And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall live for these things.

And in the turning back of the wicked from his wickedness, And he has done judgment and righteousness—he lives by them.

20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after 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 twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth [month], on the fifth of the month, that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten!

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 Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that had escaped came; and he had opened my mouth against his coming to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.

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 Jehovah came unto me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

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

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?

26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife; and shall ye possess 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 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily 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.

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 a desolation and an astonishment, and the pride of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolated, so that none shall pass 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] Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment because of all their abominations which they have committed.

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 keep talking 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.

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

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 behold, thou art unto them as a lovely song, a pleasant voice, and one that playeth well on an instrument; and they hear thy words, but they do them not.

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

And in its coming in—behold, it has come, And they have known that a prophet has been in their midst!”