The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 3 The Watchman of Israel

 The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 3

The Watchman of Israel

16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me.

18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not warn him, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

20 Likewise, when the righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not warn him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds that he did shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

21 But if you warn the righteous man, so that he does not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he was warned; and you have delivered your soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.”

23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord was there, like the glory that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

24 Then the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house.”

25 For, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them; you shall not go out among them.

26 And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be mute, and you will not be a man who rebukes them; for they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.’