Ezekiel the Watchman for Israel 1 DBY And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, BSB BSB: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 DBY 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: BSB BSB: “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
3 DBY if he see the sword coming upon the land, and blow the trumpet, and warn the people; BSB BSB: and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.
4 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
5 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
6 DBY 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. BSB BSB: But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
7 DBY 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. BSB BSB: As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
8 DBY 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. BSB BSB: If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.
9 DBY 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. BSB BSB: But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
The Message of the Watchman 10 DBY 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? BSB BSB: Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’
12 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’
13 DBY 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. BSB BSB: If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.
14 DBY And when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die, and he turneth from his sin, and doeth judgment and justice; BSB BSB: But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right—
15 DBY 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. BSB BSB: if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die.
16 DBY None of his sins which he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done judgment and justice; he shall certainly live. BSB BSB: None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
17 DBY Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. BSB BSB: Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.
18 DBY When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and doeth what is wrong, then he shall die therein. BSB BSB: If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.
19 DBY And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall live for these things. BSB BSB: But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.
20 DBY Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. BSB BSB: Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”
Word of Jerusalem’s Fall 21 DBY 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! BSB BSB: In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!”
22 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
23 DBY And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24 DBY 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. BSB BSB: “Son of man, those living in the 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 as a possession.’
25 DBY 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? BSB BSB: Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
26 DBY Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife; and shall ye possess the land? BSB BSB: You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
27 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.
28 DBY 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. BSB BSB: I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.
29 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’
30 DBY 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. BSB BSB: As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’
31 DBY 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. BSB BSB: So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
32 DBY 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. BSB BSB: Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.
33 DBY And when this cometh to pass (behold, it will come), then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. BSB BSB: So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”