Ezekiel 33

Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 t "Son of man, speak to u your people and say to them, If v I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their w watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and x blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, y his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 z He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 a But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, a that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

7 b "So you, t son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. b Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 c If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, c and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, c that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 d But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, d that person shall die in his iniquity, e but you will have delivered your soul.

Why Will You Die, Israel?

10 "And you, f son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and g we rot away because of them. h How then can we live?' 11 Say to them, i As I live, declares the Lord God, j I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; k turn back, turn back from your evil ways, k for why will you die, O house of Israel?

12 t "And you, son of man, say to l your people, m The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, n and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, m and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness 1 when he sins. 13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet m if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14 Again, o though I say to the wicked, p 'You shall surely die,' yet q if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15 if the wicked r restores the pledge, s gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks t in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 u None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

17 "Yet l your people say, v 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just. 18 w When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. 19 And x when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. 20 Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, y I will judge each of you according to his ways."

Jerusalem Struck Down

21 In the z twelfth year a of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, b a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, c "The city has been struck down." 22 d Now e the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 f "Son of man, the inhabitants of these g waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, h 'Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but i we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.' 25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: j You eat flesh with the blood and k lift up your eyes to your idols and l shed blood; shall you then possess the land? 26 m You rely on the sword, n you commit abominations, and n each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? 27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: o As I live, surely those who are in p the waste places shall fall by q the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to q the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in r strongholds and in caves shall die by q pestilence. 28 s And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and t her proud might shall come to an end, and u the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. 29 v Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.

30 "As for you, f son of man, w your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.' 31 x And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for y with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and z plays 2 well on an instrument, for a they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 b When this comes - and come it will! - c then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.
  2. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:12
    And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
    Ezekiel 33:17
    Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just.
    Ezekiel 33:30
    "As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.'
    Ezekiel 3:11
    And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God,' whether they hear or refuse to hear.
    Ezekiel 37:18
    And when your people say to you, 'Will you not tell us what you mean by these?
  3. Cross References
    Ezekiel 14:17
    Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast.
  4. Cross References
    Micah 7:4
    The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.
  5. Cross References
    Amos 3:6
    Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:13
    Lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.
    Ezekiel 3:18
    If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
  7. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:19
    But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:18
    If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
  9. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:18
    If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
  10. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:17
    Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
  11. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:17
    Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
  12. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:2
    Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman.
  13. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:6
    But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
  14. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:6
    But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
  15. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:6
    But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
  16. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:4
    Then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
  17. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:4
    Then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
  18. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:19
    But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
    1 Timothy 4:16
    Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
  19. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 4:17
    I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment.
  21. Cross References
    Ezekiel 37:11
    Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.
    Isaiah 49:14
    But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.
  22. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:48
    As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
  23. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:23
    Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
  24. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:31
    Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
  25. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:31
    Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
  26. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:2
    Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman.
  27. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:2
    Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman.
  28. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:18
    When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.
    Ezekiel 18:24
    But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
  29. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:18
    When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.
    Ezekiel 18:24
    But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
  30. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 7:14
    If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
  31. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:12
    And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
  32. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:18
    If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
  33. Cross References
    Genesis 2:17
    But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
  34. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:27
    Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.
  35. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:7
    Does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment.
  36. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:2
    If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor
    Leviticus 6:4 - 5
    If he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found
    Luke 19:8
    And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.
  37. Cross References
    Ezekiel 20:11
    I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.
  38. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:22
    None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.
  39. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:12
    And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
  40. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:25
    Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
    Ezekiel 18:29
    Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
  41. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:12 - 13
    And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
    Ezekiel 18:26
    When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.
  42. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:27
    Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.
    Ezekiel 33:11 - 12
    Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
  43. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:30
    Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.
  44. Cross References
    Ezekiel 20:1
    In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.
  45. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:1
    In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city.
    Ezekiel 1:2
    On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin).
  46. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:26
    On that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news.
  47. Cross References
    Ezekiel 40:1
    In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city.
    Ezekiel 26:2
    "Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,'
    2 Kings 25:2 - 11
    So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
  48. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:26 - 27
    On that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news.
  49. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:3
    The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
  50. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.
  51. Cross References
    Ezekiel 36:4
    Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God : Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around.
  52. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:2
    Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
    Acts 7:5
    Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.
  53. Cross References
    Matthew 3:9
    And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
    Luke 3:8
    Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
  54. Cross References
    Genesis 9:4
    But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
    Leviticus 3:17
    It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.
  55. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:6
    If he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity.
  56. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:3
    You shall say, Thus says the Lord God : A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!
  57. Cross References
    Genesis 27:40
    By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.
  58. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:11
    One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
  59. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:11
    One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
  60. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:48
    As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
  61. Cross References
    Ezekiel 36:4
    Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God : Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around.
  62. Cross References
    Ezekiel 14:21
    For thus says the Lord God : How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
  63. Cross References
    Ezekiel 14:21
    For thus says the Lord God : How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
  64. Cross References
    Ezekiel 14:21
    For thus says the Lord God : How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
  65. Cross References
    1 Samuel 23:29
    And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.
  66. Cross References
    Ezekiel 35:3
    And say to it, Thus says the Lord God : Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste.
    Ezekiel 35:9
    I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
    Jeremiah 44:2
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them.
    Jeremiah 44:6
    Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day.
    Jeremiah 44:22
    The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.
  67. Cross References
    Ezekiel 7:24
    I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned.
    Ezekiel 30:6
    Thus says the Lord : Those who support Egypt shall fall, and her proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares the Lord God.
  68. Cross References
    Ezekiel 6:2
    Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them.
  69. Cross References
    Ezekiel 6:7
    And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
  70. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:24
    "Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.'
  71. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:2
    Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman.
  72. Cross References
    Ezekiel 8:1
    In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.
  73. Cross References
    Psalms 78:36 - 37
    But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.
    Isaiah 29:13
    And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.
    Jeremiah 12:2
    You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.
    1 John 3:18
    Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
  74. Cross References
    1 Samuel 16:17
    So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.
  75. Cross References
    Matthew 7:26
    And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
    Luke 6:49
    But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.
  76. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:29
    Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.
  77. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:5
    And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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