Ezekiel 33

1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, tell your people: If I brought an army to attack a country, the people there would choose one of them to be their watchman.

“Son of man, declare this to your people; say to them, 'When I bring a sword against any land, then the people of that land take one man from among themselves and make him a watchman for them.

3 When he saw the army advancing to attack the country, he would blow the trumpet to warn everyone.

He looks for the sword as it comes on the land, and he blows his horn to warn the people!

4 So if you hear the trumpet but don't pay attention to the warning, and you're killed in the attack, you will be responsible for your own death.

If the people hear the sound of the horn but do not pay attention, and if the sword comes and kills them, then each one's blood is on his own head.

5 Since you heard the trumpet but didn't pay attention to the warning, then you will be responsible for your own death. If you had paid attention the warning, you could have saved your life.

If someone hears the sound of the horn and pays no attention, his blood is on him; but if he pays attention, he will save his own life.

6 But if the watchman saw the attack coming and didn't blow the trumpet to warn everyone, and someone is killed, then that person will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their death.

However, if the watchman sees the sword as it is coming, but if he does not blow the horn, with the result that the people are not warned, and if the sword comes and takes anyone's life, then that person dies in his own sin, but I will require his blood from the watchman.'

7 Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I tell you and warn them for me.

Now you yourself, son of man! I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; you will hear the words from my mouth and warn them on my behalf.

8 If I tell the wicked ‘You're wicked; you're going to die’; but you don't warn them to change what they're doing, then they'll die in their sins and I will hold your responsible for their deaths.

If I say to a wicked person, 'Wicked one, you will surely die!' but if you do not announce this so as to warn the wicked about his way, then he who is wicked will die in his sin, but I will require his blood from your hand!

9 But if you warn the wicked to change what they're doing, and they don't, they will die in their sins, but you will save your own life.

But you, if you warn the wicked about his way, so that he might turn back from it, and if he does not turn back from his way, then he will die in his sin, but you yourself will have saved your own life.

10 Son of man, tell the people of Israel that this is what they've been saying, ‘We recognize our sins and wrongs, and they weigh on us, wearing us out. How can we go on living?’

So you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'You are saying this, “Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are decaying in them! How can we live?”'

11 Tell them: As I live, declares the Lord God, it brings me no pleasure when wicked people die. I wish they would stop sinning and live! Stop! Stop sinning! Why should you die, people of Israel?

Say to them, 'As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—I do not delight in the death of the wicked, for if the wicked repents from his way, then he will live! Repent! Repent from your wicked ways! For why should you die, house of Israel?'

12 So, son of man, tell your people: All the good things a good person has done won't save them when they sin; while the bad things a bad person has done won't be a problem for them if they stop sinning. But good people won't live if they start sinning.

So now you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of a righteous person will not save him if he sins! The wickedness of a wicked person will not cause him to perish if he repents from his sin! For the righteous person will not be able to live because of his righteousness if he sins.

13 If I tell a good person that they will live and then they rely on their goodness and start sinning, then none of the good things they did will be remembered; he will die because of the sins.

If I say to the righteous, “He will surely live!” and if he trusts in his righteousness and then commits injustice, I will not call to mind any of his righteousness. He will die for the wickedness he committed.

14 But if I tell a bad person, ‘You're going to die’ and they stop sinning and do what is good and right,

So if I say to the wicked, “You will surely die,” but if he then repents from his sins and does what is just and right—

15 if they return security given for a loan, pay back what they've stolen, and follows my laws about how to live, not doing wrong—then they will live; they won't die.

if he restores the loan guarantee that he wickedly demanded, or if he makes restitution for what he has stolen, and if he walks in the statutes that give life and no longer commits sin—then he will surely live. He will not die.

16 None of their sins will be remembered; they have done what is good and right and so they will live.

None of the sins that he has committed will be called to mind for him. He has acted justly and rightly, and so, he will surely live!

17 However, your people are complaining, ‘What the Lord does isn't right.’ But it's what they're doing that isn't right.

But your people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” but it is your ways that are not fair!

18 If a good person stops doing good and sins, they will die because of it.

When the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, then he will die in it!

19 On the other hand, if a bad person turns from their sins and they do what is good and right, they will live as a result.

When the wicked turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and righteous, he will live because of those things!

20 So how can you say, ‘What the Lord does isn't right’? Well, I'm going to judge each of you depending on what you've done, people of Israel.”

But you people say, “The way of the Lord is not fair!” I will judge each of you according to his way, house of Israel!'”

21 On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our exile, a refugee who'd escaped from Jerusalem arrived and told me, “The city has been captured!”

It happened in the twelfth year, on the fifth day of the tenth month of our captivity, that a fugitive came to me from Jerusalem and said, “The city has been captured!”

22 The previous evening before the messenger arrived the Lord had touched me so I could speak again. This was before the man came to see me in the morning. I wasn't mute any longer—I could speak again.

The hand of Yahweh had been on me in the evening before the fugitive came, and my mouth was opened by the time that he came to me in the dawn. So my mouth was open; I was no longer mute!

23 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

24 “Son of man, people living among the ruins in Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, but the country was given to him to own. There's plenty of us, so the country should belong to us.’

“Son of man, the ones inhabiting those ruins in the land of Israel are talking and say, 'Abraham was only one person, and he inherited the land, but we are many! The land has been given to us as a possession.'

25 So tell them that this is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with the blood still in it. You go and worship your idols. You commit murder. Do you really think the country should belong to you?

Therefore say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: You eat blood, and you lift up your eyes towards your idols, then you pour out people's blood. Should you really possess the land?

26 You rely on your swords to get your way. You have done some disgusting things. You're all having sex with each other's wives. Should the country belong to you?

You have depended on your swords and have done disgusting things; each man defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you really possess the land?'

27 Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: As I live, in the people living among the ruins will be killed by the sword. Those living in the countryside will be eaten by wild animals. Those living in the fortresses and caves will die from disease.

You will say this to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, surely the ones in the ruins will fall by the sword, and I will give those in the fields to the living creatures as food, and those in fortresses and in caves will die of plagues.

28 I will turn the country into a wasteland, and power you are so proud of will be ended. The mountains of Israel will become wild places that no one will want to travel through.

Then I will turn the land into a desolation and a horror, and the pride of its might will end, for the mountains of Israel will be deserted, and there will be no one to pass through them.'

29 Then the people will acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I have turned the country into a wasteland because of all the disgusting things they have done.

So they will know that I am Yahweh, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all the abominations that they have done.

30 Son of man, your people are talking about you out in the streets and in the doorways of their houses. They encourage one another, saying, ‘Come on! Let's go and hear a message from the Lord!’

So now you, son of man—your people are saying things about you beside the walls and the gates of the houses, and each says to one another—each man to his brother, 'Let us go and listen to the prophet's word that comes out from Yahweh!'

31 So my people come and visit you like they usually do. They sit and listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it. Even though they talk about love, all they're thinking about is how to cheat others.

So my people will come to you, as they often do, and will sit in front of you and listen to your words, but they will not obey them. Right words are in their mouths, but their hearts are going after unjust profit.

32 In fact, to them you're just someone who sings love songs with a lovely voice and who is a fine musician. They listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it.

For you are like a lovely song to them, a beautiful sound that is well played on a stringed instrument, so they will listen to your words, but none of them will obey them.

33 So when what you say does happen (and it will), then they will realize that they did have a prophet among them.”

So when all of this happens—behold! it will happen!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”