CHAPTER 33
“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,
Then if anyone hears
the sound
of the trumpet
but fails
to heed the warning,
and the sword
comes
and takes him away,
his blood
will be
on his own head.
Since he heard
the sound
of the trumpet
but failed
to heed the warning,
his blood
will be
on his own head.
If he
had taken warning,
he would have saved
his life.
But if
the watchman
sees
the sword
coming
and fails
to blow
the trumpet,
so that the people
are not
warned,
and the sword
comes
and takes away
a life,
then that one
is taken away
in his iniquity,
but I will hold the watchman
accountable
for his blood.'
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 warning
from Me.
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.
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.
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?’
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?'
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.'
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.
So when I tell
the wicked man,
‘You will surely die,’
and he turns
from his sin
and does
what is just
and right—
if he
restores
a pledge,
makes restitution
for what he has stolen,
and walks
in the statutes
of life
without
practicing
iniquity—
he will surely live;
he will not
die.
None
of the sins
he has committed
will be held
against him.
He has done
what is just
and right;
he will surely live.
But if a wicked man
turns
from his wickedness
and does
what is just
and right,
he
will live
because of this.
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.”
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!”
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.
“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.’
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?
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?’
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.
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.
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.’
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!'
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.
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.
So when it comes to pass—
and surely
it will come—
then they will know
that
a prophet
has been
among them.”