Jezekiel 33
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and thou shalt say to them, On whatsoever land I shall bring a sword, and the people of the land take one man of them, and set him for their watchman:
'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.
3 and he shall see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and sound an alarm to the people;
And he hath seen the sword coming against the land, And hath blown with a trumpet, and hath warned the people,
4 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.
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.
5 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.
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.
6 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 among them, that [soul] is taken because of its iniquity; but the blood [thereof] will I require at the watchman's hand.
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.
7 And thou, son of man, I have set thee [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear a word from my mouth.
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.
8 When I say to the sinner, Thou shalt surely die; [if] thou speak not to warn the wicked from his way, the wicked himself shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
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.
9 But if thou forewarn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way, he shall die in his ungodliness; but thou hast delivered thine own soul.
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.
10 And thou, son of man, say to the house of Israel; Thus have ye spoken, saying, Our errors, and our iniquities weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, and how then shall we live?
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?
11 Say to them, Thus saith 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 ye heartily from your way; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
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?
12 Say to the children of thy 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.
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.
13 When I say to the righteous, [Thou shalt 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.
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.
14 And when I say to the ungodly, Thou shalt surely die; and he shall turn from his sin, and do judgment and justice,
And in My saying to the wicked: Thou surely diest, And — he hath turned back from his sin, And hath done judgment and righteousness,
15 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.
(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.
16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered: because he has wrought judgment and righteousness; by them shall he live.
None of his sin that he hath sinned is remembered to him, Judgment and righteousness he hath done, He doth surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people will say, The way of the Lord is not straight: whereas this their way is not straight.
And the sons of thy people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As to them — their way is not pondered.
18 When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and shall commit iniquities, then shall he die in them.
In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity — he dieth for it.
19 And when the sinner turns from his iniquity, and shall do judgment and righteousness, he shall live by them.
And in the turning back of the wicked from his wickedness, And he hath done judgment and righteousness, by them he liveth.
20 And this is that which ye said, The way of the Lord is [not] straight. I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one for his ways.
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.'
21 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.
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.'
22 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.
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.
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
24 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.
'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.
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!
Ye have stood on your sword, Ye have done abomination, Each the wife of his neighbour ye have defiled, And the land ye possess!
27 Therefore say to them, Thus saith 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 slay with pestilence.
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.
28 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.
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.
29 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.
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.
30 And [as for] thee, son of man, the children of thy people are they that speak concerning thee 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.
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.
31 They approach thee as a people comes together, and sit before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them: for [there is] falsehood in their mouth, and their heart [goes] after their pollutions.
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.
32 And thou art to them as a sound of a sweet, well-tuned psaltery, and they will hear thy words, but they will not do them.
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.
33 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.
And in its coming in — lo, it hath come, And they have known that a prophet hath been in their midst!'
