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The
Watchman's Duty |
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Ezekiel 33:1
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And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Ezekiel 33:2
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"Son of man, speak to the sons of your people
and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take
one man from among them and make him their watchman, |
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Ezekiel 33:3
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and he sees the sword coming upon the land and
blows on the trumpet and warns the people, |
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Ezekiel 33:4
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then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and
does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be
on his own head. |
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Ezekiel 33:5
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'He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not
take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would
have delivered his life. |
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Ezekiel 33:6
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'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and
does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and
takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will
require from the watchman's hand.' |
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Ezekiel 33:7
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"Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed
you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth
and give them warning from Me. |
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Ezekiel 33:8
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"When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you
will surely die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked
man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. |
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Ezekiel 33:9
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"But if you on your part warn a wicked man to
turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity,
but you have delivered your life. |
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Ezekiel 33:10
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"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house
of Israel, 'Thus you have spoken, saying, "Surely our transgressions and our sins
are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?"' |
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Ezekiel 33:11
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"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord
GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked
turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then
will you die, O house of Israel?' |
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Ezekiel 33:12
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"And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens,
'The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression,
and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in
the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be
able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.' |
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Ezekiel 33:13
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"When I say to the righteous he will surely
live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of
his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which
he has committed he will die. |
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Ezekiel 33:14
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"But when I say to the wicked, 'You will surely
die,' and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, |
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Ezekiel 33:15
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if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back
what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without
committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. |
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Ezekiel 33:16
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"None of his sins that he has committed will
be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall
surely live. |
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Ezekiel 33:17
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"Yet your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the
Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right. |
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Ezekiel 33:18
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"When the righteous turns from his righteousness
and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. |
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Ezekiel 33:19
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"But when the wicked turns from his wickedness
and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them. |
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Ezekiel 33:20
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"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.'
O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways." |
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Word of Jerusalem's Capture |
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Ezekiel 33:21
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Now in the twelfth year of our exile, on the
fifth of the tenth month, the refugees from Jerusalem came to me, saying, "The
city has been taken." |
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Ezekiel 33:22
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Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in
the evening, before the refugees came. And He opened my mouth at the time they
came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened and I was no longer speechless. |
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Ezekiel 33:23
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Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, |
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Ezekiel 33:24
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"Son of man, they who live in these waste places
in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the
land; so to us who are many the land has been given as a possession.' |
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Ezekiel 33:25
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"Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord
GOD, "You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols as you
shed blood. Should you then possess the land? |
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Ezekiel 33:26
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"You rely on your sword, you commit abominations
and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?"' |
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Ezekiel 33:27
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"Thus you shall say to them, 'Thus says the
Lord GOD, "As I live, surely those who are in the waste places will fall by the
sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured,
and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves will die of pestilence.
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Ezekiel 33:28
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"I will make the land a desolation and a waste,
and the pride of her power will cease; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate
so that no one will pass through. |
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Ezekiel 33:29
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"Then they will know that I am the LORD, when
I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which
they have committed."' |
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Ezekiel 33:30
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"But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens
who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one
another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now and hear what the message is which
comes forth from the LORD.' |
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Ezekiel 33:31
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"They come to you as people come, and sit before
you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the
lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.
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Ezekiel 33:32
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"Behold, you are to them like a sensual song
by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear
your words but they do not practice them. |
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Ezekiel 33:33
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"So when it comes to pass--as surely it will--then
they will know that a prophet has been in their midst." |
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