Ezekiel 33

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Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

God continues to speak to and through Ezekiel and said,

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 

If the people choose a leader to look out for them:

If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 

The chosen watchmen blow the horn to let the people know something bad is coming;

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. 

The people heard the warning and ignore it; they will pay the price; they were warned but refused to listen.

He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 

Anyone who ignores the warning will pay the price, and anyone who takes heed will be saved.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 

If the watchman does not warn the people and the people die, the watchman will be responsible for the lives lost.

So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 

Ezekiel, your job is to tell the people what I say.

When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 

If I tell the man is wrong, tell him; if you do not tell him and he dies, I will hold you accountable for the man's life.

Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 

If you tell the man he is wrong and he does not listen, you are not responsible.

10.  Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 

If we see that we are in trouble and wasting away, how can we survive?

11.  Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, 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? 

God said I do feel good see you die; listen to Me and live.  Change, and you will never see death.

Therefore, 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: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 

If you are living right and change your mind about doing good, your good deeds will not matter; if you were a wicked person and stop your wickedness, your evil-doing will not count against you. Your doing right does not matter if you decide to backslide.

When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 

If you have 10 days to do the right thing, and you decide to only do right for 9 days and do evil on the tenth day, your righteous doings will not matter.  You will die as an evil man.

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 he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 

If a sinner stops sinning and has proof of change, that man will be saved.

None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 

None of the sins he committed will be remembered.  That changed man will 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. 

The people said God's wages are not fair.  God said the people's ways are not fair.

When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 

A right man who quits doing right will die as an evil man.

But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 

An evil man who starts living right will live and not die.

Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. 

You still say my judgments are not right.  I have spoken, and that is the way it will be.

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. 

Someone came to me and said Jerusalem is under attack.

Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 

The fulfillment of God happened 10/5/12 of our 70-year exile.  ( some commentators do not agree with this exact date) King Jehoiachin had been in exile for 12 years.  In the 10th month of the 12th year, someone ran and told Ezekiel what was going on, and Ezekiel's mouth came open just as God spoke.  He told Ezekiel he would not be able to speak until the day Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem.

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of 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 GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 

You say the land belongs to you after you commit the sins I told you to stay out of?  Do you think I will allow you to live on the land with sin?

Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? 

You live and sin and say, the land I promised is yours?

Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes 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 be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 

Tell those people who refuse to change that you will die by disease, sword, or the beast will eat you up.  You will not sin and live.

For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 

The blessing in the land will be cursed because of your wicked ways.

Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

When you see My judgment, you will know I am God.

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against 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 the LORD. 

Ezekiel, your kin folk are still talking about you; they say, come and let's go see Ezekiel and see what God has told him.

And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but the will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

These people come to you, but they are two-faced.  

They smile in your face, but they have no intentions to change.

And, lo, thou art unto them as 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. 

You sound good to their ears, but they do not give your words a second thought.

And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

But the day will come that they will realize you were telling the truth.