New King James Version

New Living Translation

1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

1Once again a message came to me from the LORD:

2“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,

2“Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.

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

3When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.

4then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

4Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.

5He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

5They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.

6But 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 person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

6But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

7“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.

7“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.

8When 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 iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

8If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.

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

9But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. The Watchman’s Message

10“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ’

10“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’

11Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

11As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?

12“Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’

12“Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.

13When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.

13When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins.

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

14And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right.

15if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

15For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die.

16None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

16None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.

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

17“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.

18When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.

18For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.

19But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it.

19But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.

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

20O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.” Explanation of Jerusalem’s Fall

21And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!”

21On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”

22Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

22The previous evening the LORD had taken hold of me and given me back my voice. So I was able to speak when this man arrived the next morning.

23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

23Then this message came to me from the LORD:

24“Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’

24“Son of man, the scattered remnants of Israel living among the ruined cities keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he gained possession of the entire land. We are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

25“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

25So tell these people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?

26You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

26Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’

27“Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence.

27“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword. And I will send wild animals to eat those living in the open fields. Those hiding in the forts and caves will die of disease.

28For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.

28I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.

29Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

29When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’

30“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’

30“Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the LORD is saying!’

31So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.

31So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.

32Indeed 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 they do not do them.

32You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!

33And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

33But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.”

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.