And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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 a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
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.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away {Or, for}in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die {Or, for}in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die {Or, for}in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, {Or, Truly our transgressions &c.}Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away {Or, for}in them; how then can we live?
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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?
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 he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but {Or, for}in his iniquity that he hath committed, {Or, for it}therein shall he die.
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;
if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die {Or, for it (Hebrew: them)}therein.
And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
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.
Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in 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.
Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely 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.
And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.
Then shall they 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.
And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk 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.
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.
And, lo, thou art unto them as {Or, a love-song}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.
And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
Querverweise zu Hesekiel 33,2 Hes 33,2
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the {Or, ravines}watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk 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.
Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.
And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
And the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold, another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.
And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, {Or, Let the sword go}Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast;
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, {Or, is all well?}Is it peace?
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not back.
Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not back: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.
But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman: let him declare what he seeth:
{Or, and he saw…and he hearkened}and when he seeth {Or, a chariot Or, chariots}a troop, {Or, a pair of horsemen}horsemen in pairs, {Or, a chariot Or, chariots}a troop of asses, {Or, a chariot Or, chariots}a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed.
And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and am set in my ward {Or, every night}whole nights;
and, behold, here {Or, come chariots of men}cometh a troop of men, {Or, a pair of horsemen}horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;
it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? {Or, it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree}the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.
And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: {Or, terrors by reason of the sword are upon my people}they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.
For there is a trial; and {Or, what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more &c.}what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.
Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which {Or, compasseth them about}entereth into their chambers.
I have set the {Or, glittering}threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.
{Hebrew: Make thyself one.}Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, {Or, whither is thy face set?}whithersoever thy face is set.
All ye beasts of the field, {Or, come ye to devour all the beasts in the forest.}come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
Destroyers are come upon all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh hath peace.
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah's remembrancers, {Or, keep not silence}take ye no rest,
And it shall come to pass, when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity.
Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
And I will appoint over them four {Hebrew: families.}kinds, saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and the dogs to {Hebrew: drag.}tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.
Ephraim {Or, watcheth against}was a watchman with my God: as for the prophet, a fowler's snare is in all his ways, and enmity in the house of his God.
A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah.
O thou sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still.
How canst thou be quiet, seeing Jehovah hath given {Hebrew: it.}thee a charge? Against Ashkelon, and against the sea-shore, there hath he appointed it.
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.