Ezekiel 33

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying:

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man Speak unto the sons of thy people and thou shalt say unto them, A land—when I bring upon it a sword, And the people of the land shall take one man out of their whole number, and appoint him for them, as watchman;

“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,

3 And he shall see the sword coming upon the land, —and shall blow with the horn and warn the people

and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.

4 Then as for him who really heard the sound of the horn and took not warning, The sword indeed hath come and taken him away, — His blood, upon his own head shall remain: —

Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

5 The sound of the horn, he heard, but took not warning, His blood, upon himself shall remain, — Whereas had he taken warning, his own soul, he should have delivered.

Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

6 But as for the watchman-When he seeth the sword coming. And hath not blown with the horn. And the people, have not been warned, And the sword, hath come and taken away from among them any person he, for his iniquity, hath been taken away, But his blood at the hand of the watchman will I require.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’

7 Thou therefore Son of man, A watchman, have I appointed thee, to the house of Israel, So then thou shalt hear at my mouth a message, and shalt warn them from me.

As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.

8 When I say to the lawless man O lawless man thou shalt surely die, And thou have not spoken to warn the lawless man from his way He the lawless man for his iniquity shall die, But his blood- at thy hand- will I demand.

If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.

9 But as for thyself When thou hast warned a lawless man from his way, to turn therefrom, And he hath not turned from his way He, for his own iniquity shall die, But thou hast delivered thine own life,

But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

10 Thou, therefore, Son of man, Say unto the house of Israel, Thus, have ye spoken saying: When our transgressions and our sins are upon us, —and for them, we are melting away How then can we live?

Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’

11 Say unto them, As I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, Surely, I can take no pleasure in the death of the lawless man, But that the lawless man turn from his way, and live, - Turn ye, turn ye, from your wicked ways, For wherefore should ye die. O house of Israel?

Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

12 Thou, therefore, Son of man Say unto 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 lawlessness of the lawless man, He shall not stumble thereby, in the day of his return from his lawlessness, - Nor shall the righteous man be able to live thereby, in the day of his sin.

Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’

13 When I say of the righteous man He shall surely live but he hath trusted in his righteousness and committed perversity None of his righteous deeds shall be mentioned, But by his perversity which he hath committed—thereby, shall he die.

If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

14 And when I say to the lawless man Thou shalt surely die, but he shall turn from his sin, and do justice and righteousness:

But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right—

15 The debt-pledge, the lawless man shall restore Plunder, shall pay back, In the statutes of life, hath walked, so as not to commit perversity. He shall surely live he shall not die: —

if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die.

16 None of his sins which he hath committed shall be called to mind against him, — Justice and righteousness, hath he done He shall surely live.

None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.

17 And can the sons of thy people say, The way of The Lord will not be equal? Nay! but as for them, their way will not be equal!

Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.

18 When the righteous man shall turn from his righteousness and commit perversity Then shall he die for them;

If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.

19 But when the lawless man shall turn from his lawlessness, and do justice and righteousness Upon them, shall he live.

But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.

20 And can ye then say, The way of The Lord will not be equal? Every man—according to his own ways so will I judge you O house of Israel?

Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each 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 of the month of our exile, that there came unto me one that had escaped out of Jerusalem saying. Smitten is the city!

In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!”

22 Now the hand of Yahweh, had come unto me in the evening, before the coming of him who had escaped, and he had opened my mouth, by the time that he came to me in the morning, —so my mouth, was opened, and I was dumb no longer.

Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

23 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 Son of man These inhabitants of waste places on the soil of Israel are saying thus, One, was Abraham. Yet he inherited the land, - But, we, are many, To us, is the land given as an inheritance.

“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

25 Wherefore say unto them Thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh. -With the blood, ye do eat. And your eyes, ye do lift up unto your manufactured gods. And blood, ye do shed; And the land, shall ye inherit?

Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

26 Ye men have taken your stand by your sword. Ye women have wrought abomination, And every man—with the wife of his neighbour, have ye defiled yourselves; And the land, shall ye inherit?

You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’

27 Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, As I live, surely, they who are in the waste places by the sword, shall fall, And him who is on the face of the field to the wild beast, have I given to be devoured, - And they who are in the mountain holds and in the pits: by pestilence, shall die;

Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

28 And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment, So shall be made to cease the pride of her strength, - And the mountains of Israel shall be too desolate for any to pass through.

I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.

29 So shall they know that I, am Yahweh, — When I make the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.

Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’

30 Thou therefore Son of man, the sons of thy people who are talking against thee Near the walls and in the entrances of the houses, are speaking one with another, every man with his brother saying. Come in we pray you and heat, what is the word that is coming forth from Yahweh;

As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’

31 That they may come unto thee as people do come And may sit before thee as my people, And they will hear thy words, But, the words themselves, will they not do, — though fond with their mouths, they seem to be, After their unjust gain, their heart is going.

So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

32 And lo! thou art to them— As a bewitching song, Of one with a beautiful voice. And skilfully touching the strings, —So will they hear thy words, And yet be going to do none of them.

Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.

33 But when it cometh Lo! it is coming, Then shall they know that a prophet hath been in their midst.

So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”