| New International Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1The word of the LORD came to me: | 1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 2"Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their 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, |
| 3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, | 3and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, |
| 4then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. | 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. |
| 5Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. | 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 sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone's life, that person's life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.' | 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"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from 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. |
| 8When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. | 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 do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. | 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, say to the Israelites, 'This is what you are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"' | 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?"' |
| 11Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?' | 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"Therefore, son of man, say to your people, 'If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person's former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person's former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.' | 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.' |
| 13If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. | 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 if I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' but they then turn away from their sin 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, |
| 15if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil--that person will surely live; they will 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 the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; 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"Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But it is their way that is not just. | 17"Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right. |
| 18If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. | 18"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. |
| 19And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. | 19"But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. |
| 20Yet you Israelites say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to your own ways." | 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." |
| 21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped 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." |
| 22Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was on 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 silent. | 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 the word of the LORD came to me: | 23Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, |
| 24"Son of man, the people living in those 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 our 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.' |
| 25Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? | 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? |
| 26You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?' | 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 this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. | 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 make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross 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. |
| 29Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.' | 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"As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' | 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.' |
| 31My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. | 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. |
| 32Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. | 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. |
| 33"When all this comes true--and it surely will--then they will know that 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." |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | 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 |
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