Ezekiel 33

1 Again the word of the LORD came to 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 to them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman:

Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and you shall say to them, On whatever land I shall bring a sword, and the people of the land take one man of them, and set him for their watchman:

3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he shall blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

and he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and sound an alarm to the people;

4 Then whoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword will come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

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.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

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.

6 But if the watchman will see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword will come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

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 amongst them, that [soul] is taken because of its iniquity; but the blood [thereof] will I require at the watchman's hand.

7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

And you, son of man, I have set you [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and you shall hear a word from my mouth.

8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

When I say to the sinner, You shall surely die; [if] you speak not to warn the wicked from his way, the wicked himself shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.

9 Nevertheless, if thou shalt warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he will not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

But if you forewarn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way, he shall die in his ungodliness; but you have delivered your own soul.

10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak to the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel; Thus have you spoken, saying, Our errors, and our iniquities weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, and how then shall we live?

11 Say to them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked should 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, Thus says 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 you heartily from your way; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

12 Therefore, thou son of man, say to the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

Say to the children of your 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.

13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he will trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

When I say to the righteous, [You shall 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.

14 Again, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he will turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

And when I say to the ungodly, You shall surely die; and he shall turn from his sin, and do judgement and justice,

15 If the wicked will restore the pledge, give again that which he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

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.

16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned to him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered: because he has wrought judgement and righteousness; by them shall he live.

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.

Yet the children of your people will say, The way of the Lord is not straight: whereas this their way is not straight.

18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, for that he shall even die.

When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and shall commit iniquities, then shall he die in them.

19 But if the wicked will turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, for that he shall live.

And when the sinner turns from his iniquity, and shall do judgement and righteousness, he shall live by them.

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

And this is that which you said, The way of the Lord is [not] straight. I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one for his ways.

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten.

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.

22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, before he that had escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.

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.

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

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

24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given to us for inheritance.

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.

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

27 Say thou thus to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes 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 forts and in the caves shall die by the pestilence.

Therefore say to them, Thus says 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 kill with pestilence.

28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

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.

29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

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.

30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against 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 the LORD.

And [as for] you, son of man, the children of your people are they that speak concerning you 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.

31 And they come to thee as the people come, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

They approach you as a people comes together, and sit before you, and hear your words, but they will not do them: for [there is] falsehood in their mouth, and their heart [goes] after their pollutions.

32 And, lo, thou art to them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do not perform them.

And you are to them as a sound of a sweet, well-tuned lute, and they will hear your words, but they will not do them.

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

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.