Ezekiel 33
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1Once again a message came to me from the LORD:1This message came to me from the LORD:
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.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,
3When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.3and if he notices that violence is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people,
4Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.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.
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.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 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.’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“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.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 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.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 them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. The Watchman’s Message9However, 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“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?’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?"'
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?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“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.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.'
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.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.
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.14"If I tell the wicked person that he will certainly die, if he turns from his sin and acts with justice and righteousness,
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.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 their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will 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“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.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.
18For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.18When a righteous man forsakes his own righteousness and commits evil acts, he will die because of those acts,
19But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.19and when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is just and right, he will certainly live because of that.
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 Fall20"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!"
21On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”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."
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.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.
23Then this message came to me from the LORD:23As a result, this message came to me from the LORD:
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.’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.'
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?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?
26Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’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?'
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.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.
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.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."
29When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’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“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!’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!'
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.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.
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!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!
33But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know 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."
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.The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.
Ezekiel 32
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