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EZEKIEL 3 3
28 “You too, Egypt, will lie crushed and broken among the outcasts, all slaughtered by the
sword.
29 “Edom is there with its kings and princes.
Mighty as they were, they also lie among those
slaughtered by the sword, with the outcasts who
have gone down to the pit.
30 “All the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there with others who have died.
Once a terror, they have been put to shame.
They lie there as outcasts with others who were
slaughtered by the sword. They share the shame
of all who have descended to the pit.
31 “When Pharaoh and his entire army arrive,
he will take comfort that he is not alone in having his hordes killed, says the Sovereign Lord.
32 Although I have caused his terror to fall upon
all the living, Pharaoh and his hordes will lie
there among the outcasts who were slaughtered by the sword. I, the Sovereign Lord, have
spoken!”
Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman
Once again a message came to me
from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, give
your people this message: ‘When I bring an
army against a country, the people of that land
choose one of their own to be a watchman.
3 When the watchman sees the enemy coming,
he sounds the alarm to warn the people. 4 Then
if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. 5 They heard
the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility
is theirs. If they had listened to the warning,
they could have saved their lives. 6 But if the
33
• Repentance
E Z E K IE L 3 3 :1 0 -1 6
The power of sin is like a mighty river
rushing headlong toward a dangerous
waterfall. If your boat is heading toward
the falls, you can deny impending doom
by telling yourself that the falls really
aren’t there. You can choose to believe
that the falls are yet many miles away and
that you still have time to save yourself.
Or you can be extremely sorry about your
predicament. None of these help you in
any way, for none change the fact that
you are headed over the falls! What you
need is someone to help you reverse
your direction—and quickly!
Repentance is a radical change of
direction. Through repentance, with
God’s help, we not only turn our boat
around, but we begin moving upstream.
Where is your boat headed?
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watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t
sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in
their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’
7 “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to
what I say and warn them for me. 8 If I announce
that some wicked people are sure to die and you
fail to tell them to change their ways, then they
will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 9 But if you warn them to
repent and they don’t repent, they will die in
their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
The Watchman’s Message
10 “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon
us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord,
I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people.
I only want them to turn from their wicked ways
so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
12 “Son of man, give your people this message:
The righteous behavior of righteous people will
not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the
wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them
if they repent and turn from their sins. 13 When I
tell righteous people that they will live, but then
they sin, expecting their past righteousness to
save them, then none of their righteous acts will
be remembered. I will destroy them for their
sins. 14 And suppose I tell some wicked people
that they will surely die, but then they turn from
their sins and do what is just and right. 15 For
instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my
life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If
they do this, then they will surely live and not
die. 16 None of their past sins will be brought up
again, for they have done what is just and right,
and they will surely live.
17 “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t
doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not
doing what’s right. 18 For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous
behavior and turn to evil, they will die. 19 But
if wicked people turn from their wickedness
and do what is just and right, they will live.
20 O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord
isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you
according to your deeds.”
Explanation of Jerusalem’s Fall
21 On January 8,* during the twelfth year of our
captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me
and said, “The city has fallen!” 22 The previous
evening the Lord had taken hold of me and
33:21 Hebrew On the fifth day of the tenth month, of the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on
January 8, 585 b.c.; also see note on 1:1.