1 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “ Son of man, speak to the children of your people. Say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men to keep watch for them,

Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, When I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take a man from among them and make him their watchman,

3 a nd he sees the sword coming upon the land and sounds the horn to tell the people of the danger,

If when he sees the sword coming upon the land, he blows the trumpet and warns the people,

4 t hen if anyone hears the horn and does not take care, and a sword comes and kills him, he will be to blame for his own death.

Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

5 H e heard the sound of the horn, but did not worry about the danger. He will be to blame for his own death. If he had been careful, he would have saved his life.

He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning shall save his life.

6 B ut if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, and the people are not told of the danger, and a sword comes and kills one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin. But the blood of the watchman must be given.’

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away in and for his perversity and iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

7 “ Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. So when I give you the word, you must tell them of the danger.

So you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me.

8 W hen I tell a sinful man that he will die for sure, and you do not speak to him about the danger of his way, that sinful man will die in his sin. But your blood must be given.

When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his perversity and iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.

9 B ut if you tell a sinful man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his sin. But you have saved your life. God Judges Well

But if you warn the wicked to turn from his evil way and he does not turn from his evil way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

10 “ Son of man, say to the people of Israel, ‘You have said, “Our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away in them. How then can we live?”’

And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: Truly our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?

11 S ay to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I am not pleased when sinful people die. But I am pleased when the sinful turn from their way and live. Turn! Turn from your sinful ways! Why will you die, O people of Israel?’

Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather 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?

12 N ow, son of man, tell the children of your people, ‘If a man does what is right and good, it will not save him when he sins.’ And the sins of a sinful man will not make him fall when he turns from his sinful way. But the man who is right and good will not be able to live by his good ways when he sins.

And you, son of man, say to your people, The uprightness and justice of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wicked lawlessness of the wicked lawless, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, neither shall the rigidly upright and just be able to live because of his past righteousness in the day that he sins and misses the mark.

13 W hen I tell the man who is right and good that he will live, and he trusts in his good ways so much that he sins, none of his good works will be remembered. He will die for the sin he has done.

When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live, and he trusts to his own righteousness and commits iniquity (heinous sin), all his righteous deeds shall not be remembered; but for his perversity and iniquity that he has committed he shall die.

14 B ut when I tell the sinful man that he will die, and he turns from his sin and does what is right and good,

Again, when I have said to the wicked, You shall surely die, if he turns from his sin and does that which is lawful and right—

15 i f he gives back what a person gave him as trust for a promise, pays back what he had stolen, follows the Laws that give life and does not sin, he will live for sure. He will not die.

If the wicked restores pledge, gives back what he had taken in robbery, walks in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

16 N one of the sins he has done will be remembered against him. He has done what is right and good, and he will live for sure.

None of his sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

17 “ Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ But it is their way that is not right.

Yet your people say, The way of the Lord is not perfect or even just; but as for them, it is their own way that is not perfect or even just.

18 W hen the right and good man turns from his good way and sins, he will die for it.

When the righteous turns back from his righteousness and commits perverseness and iniquity, he shall even die in and because of it.

19 B ut when the sinful man turns from his sin and does what is right and good, he will live because of it.

But if the wicked turns back from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it.

20 Y et you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O people of Israel, I will judge each of you by his ways.” Jerusalem Is Taken

Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not perfect or just. O you house of Israel, I will judge you, every one according to his own ways!

21 O n the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year since we had been taken to a strange land, a man who got away from Jerusalem came and said to me, “The city has been taken.”

In the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth, on the fifth of the month, a man who had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is taken.

22 N ow the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before the man came. And He opened my mouth so that when the man came to me in the morning, I was able to speak. The Sins of the People

Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before this one who had escaped came, and He had opened my mouth coming to me in the morning, and my mouth was opened and I was no longer dumb.

23 T hen the Word of the Lord came to me saying,

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

24 “ Son of man, the people who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he owned the land. But we are many, and for sure the land has been given to us.’

Son of man, those who inhabit those wastes of the ground of Israel are saying, Abraham was only one man and he inherited the land, but we are many; the land is surely given to us to possess as our inheritance.

25 S o tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “You eat meat with the blood in it, and worship your false gods as you kill. Should the land belong to you?

Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat meat with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?

26 Y ou trust in your sword, and keep on sinning. Each of you does sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Should the land belong to you?”’

You stand upon your sword; you commit abominations and each of you defiles your neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?

27 T ell them, ‘The Lord God says, “As I live, those who are in the waste places will be killed by the sword. Whoever is in the open field, I will feed to the wild animals. And those who are in the strong-places and in the caves will die of disease.

Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.

28 I will destroy the land and make it a waste. The pride of her power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be laid waste, so that no one will pass through.

And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through them.

29 T hen they will know that I am the Lord, when I destroy the land and make it a waste because of all the hated sins they have done.”’

Then shall they know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.

30 “ As for you, son of man, your people are talking to each other about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses. They are saying, ‘Come and hear the word that has come from the Lord.’

As for you, son of man, your people who talk of you by the walls and in the doors of the houses say one to another, every one to his brother, Come and hear what the word is that comes forth from the Lord.

31 T hey come and sit in front of you as My people, and listen to the words you say. But they do not do them. With their mouth they speak of love, but their hearts are full of sinful desire.

And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear the words you say, but they will not do them; for with their mouths they show much love, but their hearts go after and are set on their gain.

32 T hey think of you as nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays music well. For they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

Behold, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument, for they hear your words but do not do them.

33 W hen all this comes true, and it will, then they will know that a man of God has been among them.”

When this comes to pass—for behold, it will come!—then shall they know, understand, and realize that a prophet has been among them.