Ezekiel 33

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

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “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,

“Son of man, tell your people: If I brought an army to attack a country, the people there would choose one of them to be their watchman.

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

When he saw the army advancing to attack the country, he would blow the trumpet to warn everyone.

4 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.

So if you hear the trumpet but don't pay attention to the warning, and you're killed in the attack, you will be responsible for your own death.

5 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.

Since you heard the trumpet but didn't pay attention to the warning, then you will be responsible for your own death. If you had paid attention the warning, you could have saved your life.

6 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.

But if the watchman saw the attack coming and didn't blow the trumpet to warn everyone, and someone is killed, then that person will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their death.

7 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.

Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I tell you and warn them for me.

8 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.

If I tell the wicked ‘You're wicked; you're going to die’; but you don't warn them to change what they're doing, then they'll die in their sins and I will hold your responsible for their deaths.

9 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.

But if you warn the wicked to change what they're doing, and they don't, they will die in their sins, but you will save your own life.

10 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?

Son of man, tell the people of Israel that this is what they've been saying, ‘We recognize our sins and wrongs, and they weigh on us, wearing us out. How can we go on living?’

11 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?

Tell them: As I live, declares the Lord God, it brings me no pleasure when wicked people die. I wish they would stop sinning and live! Stop! Stop sinning! Why should you die, people of Israel?

12 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.

So, son of man, tell your people: All the good things a good person has done won't save them when they sin; while the bad things a bad person has done won't be a problem for them if they stop sinning. But good people won't live if they start sinning.

13 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.

If I tell a good person that they will live and then they rely on their goodness and start sinning, then none of the good things they did will be remembered; he will die because of the sins.

14 And in My saying to the wicked: You surely die, And—he has turned back from his sin, And has done judgment and righteousness,

But if I tell a bad person, ‘You're going to die’ and they stop sinning and do what is good and right,

15 (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.

if they return security given for a loan, pay back what they've stolen, and follows my laws about how to live, not doing wrong—then they will live; they won't die.

16 All his sin—his sins that he has sinned—are not remembered against him, He has done judgment and righteousness, He surely lives.

None of their sins will be remembered; they have done what is good and right and so they will live.

17 And the sons of your people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As for them—their way is not pondered.

However, your people are complaining, ‘What the Lord does isn't right.’ But it's what they're doing that isn't right.

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

If a good person stops doing good and sins, they will die because of it.

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

On the other hand, if a bad person turns from their sins and they do what is good and right, they will live as a result.

20 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.”

So how can you say, ‘What the Lord does isn't right’? Well, I'm going to judge each of you depending on what you've done, people of Israel.”

21 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.”

On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our exile, a refugee who'd escaped from Jerusalem arrived and told me, “The city has been captured!”

22 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.

The previous evening before the messenger arrived the Lord had touched me so I could speak again. This was before the man came to see me in the morning. I wasn't mute any longer—I could speak again.

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

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

24 “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.

“Son of man, people living among the ruins in Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, but the country was given to him to own. There's plenty of us, so the country should belong to us.’

25 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?

So tell them that this is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with the blood still in it. You go and worship your idols. You commit murder. Do you really think the country should belong to you?

26 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?

You rely on your swords to get your way. You have done some disgusting things. You're all having sex with each other's wives. Should the country belong to you?

27 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.

Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: As I live, in the people living among the ruins will be killed by the sword. Those living in the countryside will be eaten by wild animals. Those living in the fortresses and caves will die from disease.

28 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.

I will turn the country into a wasteland, and power you are so proud of will be ended. The mountains of Israel will become wild places that no one will want to travel through.

29 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.

Then the people will acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I have turned the country into a wasteland because of all the disgusting things they have done.

30 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.

Son of man, your people are talking about you out in the streets and in the doorways of their houses. They encourage one another, saying, ‘Come on! Let's go and hear a message from the Lord!’

31 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.

So my people come and visit you like they usually do. They sit and listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it. Even though they talk about love, all they're thinking about is how to cheat others.

32 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.

In fact, to them you're just someone who sings love songs with a lovely voice and who is a fine musician. They listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it.

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

So when what you say does happen (and it will), then they will realize that they did have a prophet among them.”