EzekielChapter 33

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¹Again the LORD gave me this message. He said, ²"Son of man, speak to your people. Tell them, 'Suppose I bring war against a land. The people of that land choose a man from among them. They make him their watchman. ³He sees the sword coming against that land. So he blows the ram's horn to warn the people. ⁴Then suppose someone hears the sound of the horn but does not pay attention to the warning. The sword comes and takes his life. Then he is to blame for his own death. ⁵He heard the sound of the horn but did not pay attention to the warning. So he is to blame for his own death. If he had paid attention to the warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes someone's life. That person will be taken away because of his sin. But I will hold the watchman responsible for his death.' ⁷Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel. So listen to the message from my mouth. Give them my warning. ⁸Suppose I say to a wicked man, 'Wicked man, you will surely die.' But you do not speak up to warn him to turn from his way. Then that wicked man will die because of his sin. But I will hold you responsible for his death. ⁹But suppose you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it. Then he will die because of his sin. But you will have saved your own life. ¹⁰Now, son of man, tell the people of Israel what they have been saying: 'Our wrongs and our sins weigh us down. We are wasting away because of them! How can we live?' ¹¹Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no joy when wicked people die. I would rather they turn from their ways and live. Turn back! Turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, people of Israel?' ¹²So, son of man, say to your people, 'A righteous man's righteousness will not save him on the day he sins. And a wicked man's wickedness will not make him fall on the day he turns from it. A righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day he sins.' ¹³Suppose I tell a righteous man that he will surely live. But then he trusts in his own righteousness and does wrong. Then none of the right things he did will be remembered. He will die because of the wrong he has done. ¹⁴Or suppose I tell a wicked man, 'You will surely die.' But then he turns from his sin and does what is fair and right. ¹⁵He gives back what he took to hold for a loan. He pays back what he stole. He follows the rules that give life, and he does no wrong. Then he will surely live. He will not die. ¹⁶None of the sins he has done will be held against him. He has done what is fair and right. He will surely live. ¹⁷Yet your people say, 'The way the Lord acts is not fair.' But it is their way that is not fair. ¹⁸If a righteous man turns away from doing what is right and does wrong, he will die for it. ¹⁹But if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it. ²⁰Yet you say, 'The way the Lord acts is not fair.' But I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel." ²¹It was the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month. A man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me. He said, "The city has been captured!" ²²The evening before he came, the hand of the LORD was on me. The LORD opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened, and I was no longer silent. ²³Then the LORD gave me this message. He said, ²⁴"Son of man, the people living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, and yet he owned the land. But we are many. Surely the land has been given to us to own.' ²⁵So tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'You eat meat with the blood still in it. You look to your idols for help. You kill people. Should you then own the land? ²⁶You trust in your swords. You do disgusting things. Each of you sleeps with his neighbor's wife. Should you then own the land?' ²⁷Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'As surely as I live, those in the ruins will be killed by the sword. Those out in the open field I will give to wild animals to eat. Those in the forts and caves will die of disease. ²⁸I will make the land an empty wasteland. Its proud strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so empty that no one will travel through them. ²⁹I will make the land an empty wasteland because of all the disgusting things they have done. Then they will know that I am the LORD.' ³⁰As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you by the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. They say to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!' ³¹So my people come to you as they always do. They sit in front of you and listen to your words. But they do not do what you say. They speak words of love with their mouths. But their hearts chase after money they get by cheating. ³²To them you are just like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well. They hear your words, but they do not do what you say. ³³So when all this happens, and it surely will, they will know that a prophet has been among them."