Ezekiel 33 : 1 (NET)
The word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 33 : 2 (NET)
"Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, 'Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.
Ezekiel 33 : 3 (NET)
He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, and warns the people,
Ezekiel 33 : 4 (NET)
but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.
Ezekiel 33 : 5 (NET)
He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
Ezekiel 33 : 6 (NET)
But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person's death.'
Ezekiel 33 : 7 (NET)
"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.
Ezekiel 33 : 8 (NET)
When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.
Ezekiel 33 : 9 (NET)
But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.
Ezekiel 33 : 10 (NET)
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'
Ezekiel 33 : 11 (NET)
Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?'
Ezekiel 33 : 12 (NET)
"And you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness if he sins.'
Ezekiel 33 : 13 (NET)
Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die.
Ezekiel 33 : 14 (NET)
Suppose I say to the wicked, 'You must certainly die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.
Ezekiel 33 : 15 (NET)
He returns what was taken in pledge, pays back what he has stolen, and follows the statutes that give life, committing no iniquity. He will certainly live� he will not die.
Ezekiel 33 : 16 (NET)
None of the sins he has committed will be counted against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
Ezekiel 33 : 17 (NET)
"Yet your people say, 'The behavior of the Lord is not right,' when it is their behavior that is not right.
Ezekiel 33 : 18 (NET)
When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.
Ezekiel 33 : 19 (NET)
When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.
Ezekiel 33 : 20 (NET)
Yet you say, 'The behavior of the Lord is not right.' House of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his behavior."
Ezekiel 33 : 21 (NET)
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, a refugee came to me from Jerusalem saying, "The city has been defeated!"
Ezekiel 33 : 22 (NET)
Now the hand of the LORD had been on me the evening before the refugee reached me, but the LORD opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak.
Ezekiel 33 : 23 (NET)
The word of the LORD came to me:
Ezekiel 33 : 24 (NET)
"Son of man, the ones living in these 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 for a possession.'
Ezekiel 33 : 25 (NET)
Therefore say to them, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says: You eat the meat with the blood still in it, pray to your idols, and shed blood. Do you really think you will possess the land?
Ezekiel 33 : 26 (NET)
You rely on your swords and commit abominable deeds; each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Will you possess the land?'
Ezekiel 33 : 27 (NET)
"This is what you must 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, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.
Ezekiel 33 : 28 (NET)
I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them.
Ezekiel 33 : 29 (NET)
Then they will know that I am the LORD when I turn the land into a desolate ruin because of all the abominable deeds they have committed.'
Ezekiel 33 : 30 (NET)
"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the LORD.'
Ezekiel 33 : 31 (NET)
They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage.
Ezekiel 33 : 32 (NET)
Realize that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.
Ezekiel 33 : 33 (NET)
When all this comes true� and it certainly will� then they will know that a prophet was among them."
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