| Chapter
33 |
| 1 | Again
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
| 2 | Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say
unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a
man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: |
| 3 | If when he seeth the sword come upon the
land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; |
|
4 | 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. |
| 5 | He
heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon
him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. |
| 6 | But if the watchman see the sword come,
and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his
blood will I require at the watchman's hand. |
| 7 | So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto
the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn
them from me. |
| 8 | When I
say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not
speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. |
| 9 | Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of
his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his
iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. |
| 10 | Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of
Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us,
and we pine away in them, how should we then live? |
|
11 | Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, 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? |
| 12 |
Therefore, 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: 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 for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. |
| 13 | When I shall say to the righteous,
that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity
that he hath committed, he shall die for it. |
| 14 | Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely
die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; |
| 15 | If the wicked restore the
pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without
committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. |
| 16 | None of his sins that he hath
committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and
right; he shall surely live. |
| 17
| Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal:
but as for them, their way is not equal. |
| 18 | When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. |
|
19 | But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do
that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. |
| 20 | Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not
equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. |
| 21 | And it came to pass in
the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the
month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The
city is smitten. |
| 22 | Now
the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped
came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth
was opened, and I was no more dumb. |
|
23 | Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
| 24 | Son of man, they that inhabit those
wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited
the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. |
| 25 | Wherefore say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your
idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? |
| 26 | Ye stand upon your sword, ye work
abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess
the land? |
| 27 | Say thou
thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the
wastes 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 be in the forts and in the caves
shall die of the pestilence. |
| 28
| For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength
shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall
pass through. |
| 29 | Then
shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate
because of all their abominations which they have committed. |
| 30 | Also, thou son of man, the children of
thy people still are talking against 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 the LORD. |
| 31 | And they come unto thee as the
people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words,
but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their
heart goeth after their covetousness. |
| 32 | And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of
one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they
hear thy words, but they do them not. |
| 33 | And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then
shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. |
