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Ezekiel as Israel's Watchman
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman
Once again a message came to me from the LORD:
Once again a message came to me from the LORD:
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them all, and set him for their watchman:
“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.
if he see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.
then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood is upon him: whereas had he taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.
But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take a person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
But 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.’
So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me.
“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.
When I say unto the wicked, Wicked [man], thou shalt certainly die; and thou speakest not to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
If 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.
But if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
The Message of the Watchman
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should we live?
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should we live?
The Watchman’s Message
“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?’
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
As 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?
And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
“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.
When I say to the righteous that he shall certainly live, and he trusteth to his righteousness and doeth what is wrong, none of his righteous acts shall be remembered; but in his unrighteousness which he hath done, in it shall he die.
When 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.
And when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die, and he turneth from his sin, and doeth judgment and justice;
And 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.
if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, doing nothing that is wrong; he shall certainly live, he shall not die.
For 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.
None of his sins which he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done judgment and justice; he shall certainly live.
None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.
When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and doeth what is wrong, then he shall die therein.
For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.
And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall live for these things.
But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
O 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
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth [month], on the fifth of the month, that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten!
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth [month], on the fifth of the month, that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten!
Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that had escaped came; and he had opened my mouth against his coming to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
The 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.
Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited this land, and we are many: the land is given us for a possession.
“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.’
Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood; and shall ye possess the land?
Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife; and shall ye possess the land?
Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’
Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
“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.
And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment, and the pride of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolated, so that none shall pass through.
I 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.
And they shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment because of all their abominations which they have committed.
When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’
And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people keep talking of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.
“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!’
And they come unto thee as a people cometh, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but they do them not; for with their mouth they shew much love, [but] their heart goeth after their dishonest gain.
So 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.
And behold, thou art unto them as a lovely song, a pleasant voice, and one that playeth well on an instrument; and they hear thy words, but they do them not.
You 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!