Ezekiel 33 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

The word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: When I bring war against a land, and the people of that land choose one of their own and make him their watchman —

and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows the ram's horn to warn the people —

then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes their life — their blood is on their own hands.

They heard the horn and chose not to take warning. Their blood is on them. If they had taken warning, they would have saved their own life.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them — that person is taken because of their own corruption, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood."

"And you, son of man — I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them for me.

When I say to the wicked, 'Wicked one, you will surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their way — that wicked person will die in their corruption, but I will hold you accountable for their blood.

But if you warn the wicked to turn from their way, and they refuse to turn — they will die in their corruption, but you will have saved your own life.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'This is what you keep saying — Our rebellions and our failures weigh heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them. How can we possibly live?'

Say to them: 'As I live' — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord — 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Only that the wicked turn from their way and live. Turn back! Turn back from your destructive ways! Why would you die, house of Israel?'

"And you, son of man, say to your people: The uprightness of the upright will not save them on the day they rebel, and the wickedness of the wicked will not cause them to stumble on the day they turn from their wickedness. The upright will not be able to survive on the basis of past uprightness on the day they fail.

When I tell the upright, 'You will surely live,' but they then trust in their own uprightness and do what is wrong — none of their upright deeds will be remembered. They will die because of the wrong they have done.

And when I tell the wicked, 'You will surely die,' but they then turn from their failure and do what is just and right —

if the wicked return what was taken as collateral, make restitution for what was stolen, and walk in the ways that lead to life without doing what is wrong — they will surely live. They will not die.

None of the failures they committed will be held against them. They have done what is just and right — they will surely live.

"Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' But it is their way that is not fair.

When the upright turn from their uprightness and do what is wrong, they will die because of it.

And when the wicked turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live because of it.

Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' House of Israel — I will judge each of you according to your own ways."

In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen!"

Now the hand of Yahweh had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived. He had opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was no longer silent.

Then the word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, the people living in those ruins back in the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many — surely the land has been given to us as our possession.'

Therefore say to them: This is what Yahweh, the Lord, says — You eat meat with the blood still in it, you look to your worthless idols for help, and you shed blood. Should you then possess the land?

You rely on your swords, you commit detestable acts, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?

"Say this to them: This is what Yahweh, the Lord, says — As I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild animals to devour, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

I will make the land a desolate wasteland, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will pass through them.

Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have made the land a desolate wasteland because of all the detestable things they have done.

"As for you, son of man — your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doorways of their houses. They say to each other, 'Come, let's go hear what word is coming from Yahweh.'

They come to you as people always do, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words — but they will not do them. With their mouths they speak of devotion, but their hearts chase after profit.

And look — to them you are nothing more than a singer of love songs, someone with a beautiful voice and who plays well. They hear your words, but they will not do them.

But when it comes — and it is coming — then they will know that a prophet has been among them."