Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 383
32:30–33:14
E ze k iel
371
“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.
“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. 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!”
Once again a message came to me from the Lord: “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. When
the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the
people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their
own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the respon
sibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have
saved their lives. But if the 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.’
“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. 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. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they
will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
“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?’ 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?
“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. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, ex
pecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous
acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I
tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from
