Ezekiel 33

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

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

2 'Son of man, speak unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast said unto them: A land — when I bring in against it a sword, And the people of the land have taken one man out of their borders, And made him to them 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 he hath seen the sword coming against the land, And hath blown with a trumpet, and hath warned the people,

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

4 And the hearer hath heard the voice of the trumpet, and he hath not taken warning, And come in doth the sword, and taketh him away, His blood is on his 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 voice of the trumpet he heard, And he hath not taken warning, his blood is on him, And he who took warning his soul hath delivered.

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 And the watchman, when he seeth the sword coming in, And he hath not blown with a trumpet, And the people hath not been warned, And come in doth a sword, And taketh away of them — a soul, He in his iniquity is taken away, And his blood from the hand of the watchman I require.

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 And thou, son of man, A watchman I gave thee to the house of Israel, And thou hast heard from My mouth a word, And thou hast warned 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 In My saying to the wicked, O wicked one — thou dost surely die, And thou hast not spoken to warn the wicked from his way, He — the wicked — in his iniquity doth die, And his blood from thy hand I require.

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 And thou, when thou hast warned the wicked of his way, to turn back from it, And he hath not turned back from his way, He in his iniquity doth die, And thou thy soul hast delivered.

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 And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Rightly ye have spoken, saying: Surely our transgressions and our sins [are] on us, And in them we are wasting away, How, then, do 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, I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I delight not in the death of the wicked, But — in the turning of the wicked from his way, And he hath lived, Turn back, turn back, from your evil ways, Yea, why do 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 And thou, son of man, say unto the sons of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous doth not deliver him in the day of his transgression, And the wickedness of the wicked, He doth 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.

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 In My saying of the righteous: He surely liveth, And — he hath trusted on his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, All his righteous acts are not remembered, And for his perversity that he hath done, For it he doth 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 And in My saying to the wicked: Thou surely diest, And — he hath turned back from his sin, And hath done judgment 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 (The pledge the wicked restoreth, plunder he repayeth, ) In the statutes of life he hath walked, So as not to do perversity, He surely liveth — he doth 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 None of his sin that he hath sinned is remembered to him, Judgment and righteousness he hath done, He doth 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 And the sons of thy people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As to them — their way is not pondered.

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

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

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

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

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

20 And ye have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, Each according to his ways do 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 cometh to pass, in the twelfth year — in the tenth [month], in the fifth of the month — of our removal, come in unto me doth one who is escaped from 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 And the hand of Jehovah hath been unto me in the evening, before the coming in of the escaped one, and He openeth my mouth till the coming in unto me in the morning, and opened is my mouth, and I have not been silent again.

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 there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

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

24 'Son of man, the inhabitants of these wastes on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying: Alone hath been Abraham — and he possesseth the land, and we [are] many — to us hath the land been given for a possession.

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 said the Lord Jehovah: With the blood ye do eat, And your eyes ye lift up unto your idols, And blood ye shed, and the land ye inherit!

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 have stood on your sword, Ye have done abomination, Each the wife of his neighbour ye have defiled, And the land ye possess!

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 dost thou say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live — do not they who [are] in the wastes by the sword fall? And they who [are] on the face of the field, To the beast I have given for food, And they who are in strongholds and in caves by pestilence die.

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 have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And ceased hath the excellency of its strength, And desolated have been mountains of Israel, Without any one passing through.

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 have known that I [am] Jehovah, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.

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, the sons of thy people who are speaking about thee, By the walls, and in openings of the houses, Have spoken one with another, each with his brother, Saying: Come in, I pray you, And hear what [is] the word that cometh out from Jehovah.

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 they come in unto thee as the coming in of a people, And they sit before thee — My people, And have heard thy words, and they do them not, For doting loves with their mouth they are making, After their dishonest gain their heart is going.

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] to them as a singer of doting loves, A pleasant voice, and playing well on an instrument, And they have heard thy words, and they are not doing them.

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 And in its coming in — lo, it hath come, And they have known that a prophet hath been in their midst!'

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.