Ezekiel 33

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

A message from 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, tell your people: If I brought an army to attack a country, the people there would choose one of them to be their watchman.

3 And he hath seen the sword coming against the land, And hath blown with a trumpet, and hath warned the people,

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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?

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?’

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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

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.

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.

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 their sins will be remembered; they have done what is good and right and so they will 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.'

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.”

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.'

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!”

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.

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.

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

A message from 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, 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.’

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!

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?

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 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!’

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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