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 33,11 Hes 33,11
Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also {Or, withdraw mine eyes that it shall not spare Another reading is, hew thee down.}diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will have no pity.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate.
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;
though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only should be delivered themselves.
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; {Or, so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you}so iniquity shall not be your {Hebrew: stumblingblock.}ruin.
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah;
For he doth not afflict {Hebrew: from his heart.}willingly, nor grieve the children of men.
Turn you at my reproof:Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you;I will make known my words unto you.
Say unto them, As I live, saith Jehovah, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together.
But he that {Or, misseth me}sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:All they that hate me love death.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and {Greek: kissed him much. See chapter 7:38, 45.}kissed him.
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son {Some ancient authorities add make me as one of thy hired servants. See verse 19.}.
But the father said to his {Greek: bondservants.}servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and make merry:
for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be.
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him.
But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, {Greek: Child.}Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine.
But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near:
As I live, saith Jehovah, though {In chapter 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 3:16, Jeconiah. In 2 Kings 24:6, 8, Jehoiachin.}Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings.Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.
Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of {Or, wild vetches}nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart {Hebrew: soundeth.}yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.
For it is written, {Isaiah 45:23}As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow,And every {Or, give praise}tongue shall confess to God.
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and {Or, deal wisely}have discernment in thy truth.
O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
but declared both to them of Damascus first and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judæa, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of {Or, their repentance}repentance.