New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Once again a message came to me from the LORD:

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2“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.

2"Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

3When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.

3and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people,

4Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.

4then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

5They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.

5'He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life.

6But 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.’

6'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.'

7“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.

7"Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me.

8If 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.

8"When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.

9But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. The Watchman’s Message

9"But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.

10“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?’

10"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus you have spoken, saying, "Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?"'

11As 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?

11"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'

12“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.

12"And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, 'The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.'

13When 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.

13"When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die.

14And 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.

14"But when I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness,

15For 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.

15if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

16None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.

16"None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live.

17“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.

17"Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.

18For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.

18"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it.

19But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.

19"But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.

20O 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

20"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways."

21On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”

21Now in the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth of the tenth month, the refugees from Jerusalem came to me, saying, "The city has been taken."

22The 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.

22Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before the refugees came. And He opened my mouth at the time they came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened and I was no longer speechless.

23Then this message came to me from the LORD:

23Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,

24“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.’

24"Son of man, they who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to us who are many the land has been given as a possession.'

25So tell these people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?

25"Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols as you shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

26Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’

26"You rely on your sword, you commit abominations and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?"'

27“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.

27"Thus you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "As I live, surely those who are in the waste places will fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves will die of pestilence.

28I 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.

28"I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and the pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate so that no one will pass through.

29When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’

29"Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed."'

30“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!’

30"But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.'

31So 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.

31"They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.

32You 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!

32"Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.

33But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.”

33"So when it comes to pass-- as surely it will-- then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst."

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org