The Watchman
331The word of the Lord came to me. 2Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say this to them.
When I bring a sword against a land, and the people of the land appoint one man from their midst as their watchman, 3and that man sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the ram's horn to warn the people, 4then if anyone who hears the sound of the ram's horn does not heed the warning, and as a result the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 5He heard the sound of the ram's horn, but he did not take warning, so his own blood is on him. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
6But if the watchman sees the sword coming but does not blow the ram's horn, and as a result the people are not warned, then if the sword comes and takes one of them away, that man has been taken away because of his own guilt, but I will also hold the watchman responsible for his blood.
7But I have appointed you, son of man, to be a watchman for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them from me. 8When I say to a wicked man, “Wicked man, you shall surely die,” if you do not speak to warn the wicked man against his way, that wicked man will die because of his guilt, but I will also hold you responsible for his blood. 9But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your life.
10So you, son of man, say the following to the house of Israel.
This is what you people are saying: “Certainly our rebellion and our sins weigh us down, and because of them we are rotting away. How then can we live?” 11Say 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 their way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?”
12So you, son of man, also say this to your countrymen.
The righteousness of a righteous man will not save him on the day that he rebels, and the wickedness of a wicked man will not cause him to stumble on the day that he turns away from his wickedness. Likewise, a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day that he sins.
13When I say about the righteous man, “He will surely live,” but he then trusts in his own righteousness and does unrighteous things, all of his righteous acts will no longer be remembered, and he will die because of[] the unrighteous things he does. 14Or when I say to the wicked man, “You will surely die,” and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness— 15if that wicked man returns the collateral paid to him for a loan, returns what he has stolen, walks in the laws that lead to life, and so avoids doing unrighteous things—he will surely live. He will not die. 16All of the evil acts he committed will not be remembered against him. Since he has practiced justice and righteousness, he will certainly live.
17Yet, your countrymen are saying, “The Lord's way is not fair,” although it is actually their way that is not fair. 18When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does unrighteous things, he will die in them. 19But when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live through them. 20So, even though you say, “The Lord's way is not fair,” I will judge each one of you according to his own ways, O house of Israel.
