New Living Translation | New International Version |
1Once again a message came to me from the LORD: | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
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 people and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, |
3When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. | 3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet 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 hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. |
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. | 5Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. |
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.’ | 6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone's life, that person's life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.' |
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"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning 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. | 8When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. |
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 | 9But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. |
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"Son of man, say to the Israelites, 'This is what you are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"' |
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? | 11Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people 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"Therefore, son of man, say to your people, 'If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person's former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person's former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.' |
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. | 13If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. |
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. | 14And if I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right-- |
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. | 15if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil--that person will surely live; they will 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 person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely 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"Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But it is their way that is not just. |
18For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die. | 18If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. |
19But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live. | 19And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. |
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 | 20Yet you Israelites say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to your own ways." |
21On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” | 21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen!" |
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 evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent. |
23Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 23Then the word of the LORD came to me: |
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, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.' |
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? | 25Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? |
26Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’ | 26You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess 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"Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. |
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. | 28I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. |
29When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’ | 29Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.' |
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"As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' |
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. | 31My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. |
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! | 32Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them 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.” | 33"When all this comes true--and it surely will--then they will know that a prophet has been among them." |
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. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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