1Again this word of the LORD came to me, 2“Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and tell them, ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land station a man on their borders as their watchman; 3And if, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people; 4Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, but does not heed the warning, when the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5He heard the trumpet, but ignored the warning; his own blood shall be upon him. But if he heeds the warning, he shall deliver his soul. 6But on the other hand, if the watchman sees the sword coming, and does not blow the trumpet alarm, and the people are not warned; and the sword comes, and takes any person from among them, that person will die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at the watchman's hand. 7I have set you, O son of man, as a watchman for the people of Israel; therefore, you shall hear the word from Me, and give them My warning. 8When I say to the wicked, “O wicked man, you shall surely die”; if you do not speak to warn and dissuade the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand (hold you accountable). 9But if you warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. 10Therefore, son of man, say to the people of Israel, “If our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, how then should we live?” 11Say to them, “As I live,” says the Sovereign God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but rather that the wicked turns from his way and lives. Turn! Repent from your evil ways; why should you die, O people of Israel?” 12Therefore, son of man, say to the children of your people, “If someone who is righteous disobeys and transgresses, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring him condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be forgiven even though he was formerly righteous. 13When I tell a righteous person that he shall surely live; if he trusts in his own righteousness, and commits iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered, but he shall die for the iniquity he has committed. 14Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die’; if he turns from his sin, and does what is lawful and just; 15For instance, if the wicked restores the pledge, returns what he stole, follows the statutes of life, and commits no evil; he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16None of his sins that he has committed shall be remembered or mentioned to him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17Yet your people say, ‘The way of the LORD is not just’; but it is their way that is not just. 18If a righteous person turns from his righteousness, and does evil, he shall die for it. 19But if the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does what is lawful and just, he shall live by doing so. 20Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the LORD is not just.’ O you people of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his ways.”’”

21And in the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me, and said, “The city has fallen.” 22Now the evening before he came to me, the hand of the LORD was upon me and He had opened my mouth, before he came to me in the morning; and so my mouth was opened, so that I was no longer mute.

23Then this word of the LORD came to me, 24“Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are, saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he inherited the entire land; but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for an inheritance’. 25Therefore, say to them, ‘Thus says the Sovereign LORD: “Since you eat meat with the blood still in it, and look to your idols, and shed innocent blood; should you possess the land? 26You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; and should you possess the land?” 27Tell them this, “Thus says the Sovereign LORD: ‘As surely as I live, they that are left in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and those that are in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that are in the forts and in the caves shall die of plague. 28For I will make the land a most desolate waste, and her proud strength shall come to an end; and the mountains of Israel shall become desolate, so that no one shall cross them. 29Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land waste a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.

30‘Also, son of man, your people are still talking against you by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and saying to one another, “Come, and hear the message that has come from the LORD.” 31And My people come to you as they usually do, and sit before you; but while My people hear your words, they will not put them into practice; for though they talk much of love, their hearts are greedy for dishonest gain. 32And you are to them like a very lovely song sung by one that has a pleasant voice, and can play a musical instrument well; for while they hear your words, they do not put them into practice. 33And when this comes to pass – as it certainly will - then they shall know that a prophet has been in their midst.’”’”