Ezekiel 33

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

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, If there be a land over which I bring the sword, and the people of the land take a man from among themselves, and appoint him unto themselves for a watchman;

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man, one of their meanest, and make him a watchman over them:

3 And if he see the sword coming over the land, and blow the cornet, and warn the people;

And he see the sword coming upon the land, and sound the trumpet, and tell the people:

4 And whosoever heareth the sound of the cornet, and taketh no warning; and the sword cometh, and taketh him away: his blood shall be upon his own head.

Then he that heareth the sound of the trumpet, whosoever he be, and doth not look to himself, if the sword come, and cut him off: his blood shall be upon his own head.

5 The sound of the cornet hath he heard, and he hath taken no warning; his blood shall be upon him. But had he taken warning he would have delivered his soul.

He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not look to himself, his blood shall be upon him: but if he look to himself, he shall save his life.

6 But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow not the cornet, so that the people be not warned, and the sword cometh, and taketh away from among them some person: this one is taken away for his iniquity; but his blood will I require from the watchman's hand.

And if the watchman see the sword coming, and sound not the trumpet: and the people look not to themselves, and the sword come, and cut off a soul from among them: he indeed is taken away in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at the hand of the watchman.

7 But as for thee, O son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: so that when thou hearest a word from my mouth, thou shalt warn them from me.

So thou, O son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and shalt tell it them from me.

8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked one, thou shalt surely die; and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way: that wicked one shall die for his iniquity; but his blood will I require from thy hand.

When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, thou shalt surely die: if thou dost 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 hast indeed warned the wicked of his way to turn away from it, and he do not turn from his way: he shall certainly die for his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

But if thou tell the wicked man, that he may be converted from his ways, and he be not converted from his way: he shall die in his iniquity: but thou hast delivered thy soul.

10 But thou, O son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, Thus do ye speak, saying, Truly our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and through them do we pine away: how then shall we live?

Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: Thus you have spoken, saying: Our iniquities, and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them: how then can we live?

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Eternal, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but in the return of the wicked from his way that he may live: return ye, return ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Say to them: As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: and why will you die, O house of Israel?

12 But thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him on the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not stumble through it on the day that he returneth from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live through the other on the day that he sinneth.

Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the children of thy people: The justice of the just shall not deliver him, in what day soever he shall sin: and the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in what day soever he shall turn from his wickedness: and the just shall not be able to live in his justice, in what day soever he shall sin.

13 When I say of the righteous, that he shall surely live, and he trusteth to his own righteousness, and committeth what is wrong: all his righteous deeds shall not be remembered, and for his wrong that he hath committed, —through this shall he die.

Yea, if I shall say to the just that he shall surely live, and he, trusting in his justice, commit iniquity: all his justices shall be forgotten, and in his iniquity, which he hath committed, in the same shall he die.

14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and he turneth from his sin, and executeth justice and righteousness;

And if I shall say to the wicked: Thou shalt surely die: and he do penance for his sin, and do judgment and justice,

15 If the wicked restore the pledge, make restitution for what he hath robbed, walk in the statutes of life, so as not to do any wrong: he shall surely live, he shall not die.

And if that wicked man restore the pledge, and render what he had robbed, and walk in the commandments of life, and do no unjust thing: he shall surely live, and shall not die.

16 All his sins that he hath committed shall not be remembered unto him: justice and righteousness hath he executed, he shall surely live.

None of his sins, which he hath committed, shall be imputed to him: he hath done judgment and justice, he shall surely live.

17 Yet say the children of thy people, The way of the Lord is not equitable: while, as to them, their way is not equitable.

And the children of thy people have said: The way of the Lord is not equitable: whereas their own way is unjust.

18 When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and doth what is wrong, he shall even die therefore.

For when the just shall depart from his justice, and commit iniquities, he shall die in them.

19 And when the wicked returneth from his wickedness, and executeth justice and righteousness, he shall surely live therefore.

And when the wicked shall depart from his wickedness, and shall do judgments, and justice: be shall live in them.

20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equitable. Every one after his own ways will I judge you, O house of Israel.

And you say: The way of the Lord is not right, I will judge every one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month after our exile, that there came unto me one that had escaped out of Jerusalem, saying, The city hath been smitten.

And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that there came to me one that was fled from Jerusalem, saying: The city is laid waste.

22 Now the inspiration of the Lord was come upon me in the evening, before the coming of the one who had escaped; and he had opened my mouth, before he was come to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened and I was not kept dumb any more.

And the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before he that was fled came: and he opened my mouth till he came to me in the morning, and my mouth being opened, I was silent no more.

23 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

24 Son of man, they that dwell in these ruins in the land of Israel say as followeth, But one man was Abraham, and he obtained the land as an inheritance; and as we are many, the land must [surely] be given to us for an inheritance.

Son of man, they that dwell in these ruinous 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 in possession.

25 Therefore say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, By the blood do ye eat, and your eyes do you lift up toward your idols, and blood do ye shed: and ye expect to possess the land?

Therefore say to them: Thus saith the Lord God, You that eat with the blood and lift up your eyes to your uncleannesses, and that shed blood: shall you possess the land by inheritance?

26 Ye depend upon your sword, ye commit abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife: and ye expect to possess the land?

You stood on your swords, you have committed abominations, and every one hath defiled his neighbour’s wife; and shall you possess the land by inheritance?

27 Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, As I live, surely those that are in the ruined places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts that they may devour him, and those that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die through the pestilence.

Say thou thus to them: Thus saith the Lord God: As I live, they that dwell in the ruinous places, shall fall by the sword: and he that is in the field, shall be given to the beasts to be devoured: and they that are in holds, and caves, shall die of the pestilence.

28 And I will render the land desolate and wasted, and the pride of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, with none to pass through them.

And I will make the land a wilderness, and a desert, and the proud strength thereof shall fail, and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, because there is none to pass by them.

29 And they shall experience that I am the Lord, when I render the land desolate and wasted, because of all their abominations which they have committed.

And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have made their land waste and desolate, for all their abominations which they have committed.

30 And thou, son of man, [there are] the children of thy people, who are talking about thee by the walls and in the entrances of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Do come, and hear what the word is which cometh forth from the Lord.

And thou son of man: the children of thy people, that talk of thee by the walls, and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another each men to his neighbour, saying: Come, and let us hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord.

31 And then they come unto thee as the people come, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but do not execute them; for as merry songs they carry them in their mouth, while their heart goeth after their unlawful gains.

And they come to thee, as if a people were coming in, and my people sit before thee: and hear thy words, and do them not: for they turn them into a song of their mouth, and their heart goeth after their covetousness.

32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a merry song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well: and [thus] they hear thy words, but execute them not.

And thou art to them as a musical song which is sung with a sweet and agreeable voice: and they hear thy words, and do them not.

33 But when it cometh to pass, [lo, it will come, ] then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

And when that which was foretold shall come to pass, (for behold it is coming, ) then shall they know that a prophet bath been among them.