THE
BOOK OF EZEKIEL
Ezekiel Chapter 33
1
¶ The word of the LORD again came to me, saying,
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Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, When I bring
the sword upon a land, if the people of the land choose a man from among them,
and make him their watchman:
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If when he sees the enemy coming against the land, he blows the trumpet, to
warn the people;
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Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and ignores the warning; when the
enemy comes, and takes him away, will be responsible for his own death.
5
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and ignored the warning; his blood will be
upon him. But he who heeds the warning will save his life.
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But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not blow the trumpet, and
fails to warn the people; and the enemy comes, and kills any of them,
such a person must die for his wrong; I will hold that watchman responsible for
their death.
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So, O son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of
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When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you will surely die; if you do
not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die in his
sin; but I will require his blood at your hand.
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Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his evil way; if he
does not turn from his way, he will die in his sin; but you will have saved
your life.
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¶ Therefore, O son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say; You say, Our
sins and our wrongs weigh upon us, and they cause us to waste away, how
then can we go on living?
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Say to them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked; but want the wicked man to turn from his way and
live: turn, turn from your evil ways; why do you want to die, O house of
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Therefore, son of man, say to the children of your people, The righteousness of
the righteous will not save him when he sins: nor will the wickedness of the
wicked cause him to stumble on the day that he turns from his wickedness. The
righteousness of the righteous will not be able to keep him alive on the day
that he sins.
13
When I promise the righteous, that he will surely live; if he trusts in
his own righteousness, and commits iniquity, all his righteousnesses will not
be remembered; but he will die for the sin that he has committed.
14
Again, when I say to the wicked, You will surely die; if he turns from his sin,
and does that which is lawful and right;
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If the wicked man restores the pledge, pays back what he has stolen,
lives by the laws of life, without committing sin; he will surely live, he will
not die.
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None of the sins that he has committed will be mentioned to him: he has done
that which is lawful and right; he will surely live.
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Yet the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as
for them, their way is not equal.
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When the righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits sin, he will
die because of it.
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But if the wicked man turns from his wickedness, and does what is lawful and
right, he will live because of it.
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Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of
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¶ And 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, saying, The city is destroyed.
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Now the hand of the LORD came upon me in the evening, before the man who escaped
arrived; and he opened my mouth, before the man arrived in the morning; so my
mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
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Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Son of man, those who inhabit the ruins in the
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So tell them, The Lord GOD says this; You eat meat with blood, and lift
up your eyes toward your idols, and commit murder: shall you then possess the land?
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You depend on your swords, you do detestable things, and you defile each
other’s wives: shall you then possess the land?
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Say this to them, The Lord GOD says; As I live, surely those who are
among the ruins will fall by the sword, and I will give those who are in
the open fields to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the
forts and in the caves will die of pestilence.
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For I will make the land a terrible waste, and the pride of her strength will
be gone; and the mountains of
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Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land an
empty waste because of all the detestable things they have done.
30
¶ Now, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you by the
walls and in the doorways of their homes, and say to each other, each one to
his brother, Come, I pray you, and hear the word that comes from the LORD.
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And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as my people,
and they listen to your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth
they show much love, but in their hearts they are out for selfish gain.
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You are to them like a lovely song by one who has a pleasant voice, and
can play well on an instrument: for they hear your words, but do not do them.
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And when this comes to pass, (for it will come,) then they will know that a
prophet has been among them.