1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them, ‘If I bring a sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them and appoint him as their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning; his blood will be upon him. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes someone from among them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman responsible for his blood.’

7 As for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Hear the word from my mouth and warn them from me. 8 When I say to a wicked man, ‘Wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn him to turn from his way, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, but I will hold you responsible for his blood. 9 But if you 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 will have saved your life.

10 As for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away in them. How can we live?” ’ 11 Tell 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, turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’

12 As for you, son of man, tell your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him on the day of his transgression. The wickedness of the wicked man will not make him stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day he sins. 13 When I tell a righteous man that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered. He will die because of the injustice he has done. 14 When I say to a wicked man, “You will surely die,” but he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, 15 returns a pledge, restores what he has stolen, and follows the statutes of life without doing injustice, he will surely live; he will not die. 16 None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he will surely live.’ 17 Yet your people say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair.’ It is their own way that is not fair. 18 When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he will die because of these things. 19 When a wicked man turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live because of these things. 20 Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair.’ I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his ways.”

21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.” 22 The hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the survivor arrived. He had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

23 The word of the LORD came to me: 24 “Son of man, those who live among these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. We are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’

25 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: You eat with blood, lift your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Will you possess the land? 26 You rely on your sword and commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Will you possess the land?’

27 Say this to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: As I live, those among the ruins will fall by the sword. I will give anyone in the open field to the beasts to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of pestilence. 28 I will make the land a desolation and a devastation, and the pride of its strength will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate, with no one passing through. 29 They will know that I am the LORD when I make the land a desolation and a devastation because of all the abominations they have committed.’

30 As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you beside the walls and at the entrances of the houses. They say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come now and hear what word comes from the LORD.’ 31 They come to you as a crowd gathers, and my people sit before you. They hear your words but do not carry them out, for they show love with their mouths, but their heart follows their dishonest gain. 32 To them you are like a love song of someone with a beautiful voice who plays skillfully. They hear your words but do not carry them out. 33 When it comes—and it is coming—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”