Study Desk

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, speak to the ^(C1)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,

and he sees the sword coming upon the land and ^(C1)blows the ^(F1)horn and warns the people,

then ^(F1)someone who hears the sound of the horn but ^(C1)does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his ^(C2)blood will be on his own head.

'He heard the sound of the horn but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have ^(C1)saved his life.

'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is ^(C1)taken away for his wrongdoing; but I will ^(F1)require his ^(C2)blood from the watchman's hand.'

"Now as for you, son of man, I have ^(F1)(C1)appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a ^(F2)message from My mouth and give them a ^(C2)warning from Me.

"When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will ^(C1)certainly die,' and you do not speak to warn the wicked about his way, that wicked person shall die for his wrongdoing, but I will ^(F1)require his blood from your hand.

"But if you on your part warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he ^(C1)does not turn from his way, he will die for his wrongdoing, but you have ^(C2)saved your life.

"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have ^(F1)said: "Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are ^(C1)rotting away in them; ^(C2)how then can we ^(F2)survive?"'

"Say to them, '^(C1)As I live!' declares the Lord ^(F1)GOD, 'I take ^(C2)no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked ^(C3)turn from his way and live. ^(C4)Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then should you die, house of Israel?'

"And you, son of man, say to ^(F1)your fellow citizens, 'The ^(C1)righteousness of a righteous one will not save him on the day of his offense, and as for the wickedness of a wicked one, he will ^(C2)not stumble because of it on the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous one will not be able to live ^(F2)by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.'

"When I say to the righteous that he will certainly live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he ^(C1)commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but for that same injustice of his which he has committed he will die.

"But when I say to the wicked, 'You will certainly die,' and he ^(C1)turns from his sin and practices ^(C2)justice and righteousness,

if a wicked person returns a pledge, ^(C1)pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the ^(C2)statutes ^(F1)which ensure life without committing injustice, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

"^(C1)None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall certainly live.

"Yet ^(F1)your fellow citizens say, 'The way of the Lord is not right,' when it is their own way that is not right.

"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and ^(C1)commits injustice, then he shall die in ^(F1)it.

"But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.

"Yet you say, '^(C1)The way of the Lord is not right.' I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel."