English Standard Version

International Standard Version

1The word of the LORD came to me:

1This message came to me from the LORD:

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,

2"Son of Man, speak to your nation's children and tell them: 'If I bring war to a land, and the people of that land appoint one of their conscripted men to serve as a sentinel,

3and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,

3and if he notices that violence is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people,

4then 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.

4then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.

5He 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.

5After all, he heard the alarm sounding, but did not heed the warning, so his shed blood will remain his own responsibility. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved himself.

6But 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.

6If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I'll seek retribution for their shed blood from the one who was acting as sentinel.'"

7“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.

7"Now as for you, Son of Man, I've established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me, you are to warn the people from me.

8If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

8If I should say to a certain wicked person, 'You wicked man, you're certainly about to die,' but you don't warn him to turn from his wicked behavior, he'll die in his guilt, but I'll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you.

9But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

9However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself."

10“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’

10"'Now, Son of Man, tell this to the house of Israel: 'You keep saying, "Our crimes and sins burden us so much that we're rotting away, so how can we keep on living?"'

11Say 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?

11"Tell them, 'As certainly as I'm alive and living,' declares the Lord GOD, 'I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?'"

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.

12"And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: 'The righteousness of the righteous won't save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won't keep them from remaining away when they're turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.'

13Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet 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.

13"If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.

14Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,

14"If I tell the wicked person that he will certainly die, if he turns from his sin and acts with justice and righteousness,

15if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

15returning what has been placed as collateral for a loan, paying back what he has taken, following the regulations that promote life, and committing no iniquity, he will certainly live, and not die.

16None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

16None of the sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. Since he did what is just and right, he will certainly live.

17“Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just.

17"Nevertheless, your people's children keep saying, 'Living life the Lord's way isn't right,' when all the while it is their way of living that isn't right.

18When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.

18When a righteous man forsakes his own righteousness and commits evil acts, he will die because of those acts,

19And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this.

19and when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is just and right, he will certainly live because of that.

20Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

20"And yet you keep saying, 'Living life the Lord's way isn't right,' But I will judge every one of you according to the way you live, you house of Israel!"

21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.”

21On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, a fugitive who had escaped from Jerusalem came and informed me, "The city has been destroyed."

22Now 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.

22Now the hand of the LORD had been touching me the evening before that fugitive arrived, so the LORD had given me something to say by the time the messenger arrived the next morning. He opened my mouth and I no longer had nothing to say to him.

23The word of the LORD came to me:

23As a result, this message came to me from the LORD:

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.’

24"Son of Man, those who are living among these ruins of the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, but he was able to possess the land! As for us, we're a multitude, and the land has been given to us as an inheritance.'

25Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?

25So tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "You keep eating flesh along with its blood, you keep looking to your idols, and you keep shedding blood, and you're going to take possession of the land?

26You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?

26You keep trusting in your weapons, you continue to commit loathsome deeds, men keep defiling their neighbors' wives, and you're going to take possession of the land?'

27Say 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 whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.

27"Tell them this: 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "As certainly as I'm alive and living, those who live in the wastelands are certain to die violently, I'll give those who die in the open fields to the wild animals for food, and whoever takes refuge in caves and fortified places will die of diseases.

28And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through.

28Then I'll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them."

29Then 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.

29Then they'll learn that I am the LORD, when I've turned their land into a desolate wasteland because of all of the loathsome deeds that they've committed.'"

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.’

30"Now as for you, Son of Man, your nation's children keep gathering together to talk about you beside the walls and at the doorway to their houses. Everyone tells one another, 'Please come! Let's go hear what the LORD has to say!'

31And 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 with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

31Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don't do what you say— because they're seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

32And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

32As far as they are concerned, you sing romantic songs with a beautiful voice and play a musical instrument well. They'll listen to what you have to say, but they won't put it into practice!

33When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

33When all of this comes about—and you can be sure that it will!—they'll learn that a prophet has been in their midst."

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