Ezekiel 33

1 Again the word of the LORD came to 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 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 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 when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he shall 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 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 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 shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver 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 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.

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, 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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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: 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 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, [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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.

(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 that he hath committed shall be mentioned to him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely 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 committeth iniquity, for that he shall even die.

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

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

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 ye 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, 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 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 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.

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

And there is a word of YHWH 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, 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 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?

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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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, 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 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, (lo, 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!”