Ezekiel 33

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,	1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:	2 'Son of man, speak to the people of your country. Say to them, "When I send the sword against thepeople of that country, take one of their number and post him as a watchman;
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;	3 if he sees the sword coming against the country, he must sound his horn to warn the people.
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.	4 If someone hears the sound of the horn but pays no attention and the sword overtakes him anddestroys him, he wil have been responsible for his own death.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.	5 He has heard the sound of the horn and paid no attention; his death wil be his own responsibility. But the life of someone who pays attention will be secure.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.	6 "If, however, the watchman has seen the sword coming but has not blown his horn, and so the peopleare not alerted and the sword overtakes them and destroys a single one of them, that person wil indeed die forhis guilt, but I shal hold the watchman responsible for his death."
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.	7 'Son of man I have appointed you as watchman for the House of Israel. When you hear a word frommy mouth, warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.	8 If I say to someone wicked, "Evil- doer, you are to die," and you do not speak to warn the wickedperson to renounce such ways, the wicked person wil die for this guilt, but I shal hold you responsible for thedeath.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.	9 If, however, you do warn someone wicked to renounce such ways and repent, and that person doesnot repent, then the culprit wil die for this guilt, but you yourself wil have saved your life.
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?	10 'Son of man, say to the House of Israel, "You are continual y saying: Our crimes and sins weighheavily on us; we are wasting away because of them. How are we to go on living?"
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?	11 Say to them, "As I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- I do not take pleasure in the death of thewicked but in the conversion of the wicked who changes his ways and saves his life. Repent, turn back from yourevil ways. Why die, House of Israel?"
12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.	12 'Son of man, say to the members of your nation, "The uprightness of an upright person wil not savehim once he takes to wrong-doing; the wickedness of a wicked person wil not ruin him once he renounces hiswickedness. No one upright wil be able to live on the strength of uprightness, having once taken to sinning.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.	13 If I say to someone upright: You are to live, and then, trusting in this uprightness, he does wrong,none of the uprightness wil be remembered; because of the wrong-doing, he will die.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;	14 If, however, I say to someone wicked: You are to die, and he turns back from sin and does what islawful and upright,
15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.	15 if he returns pledges, restores what he has stolen, keeps the laws that give life and no longer doeswrong, he wil live and wil not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.	16 None of his previous sins wil be remembered against him; having done what is lawful and upright, hewil live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.	17 "But the members of your nation say: What the Lord does is unjust. But it is what you do that isunjust.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.	18 When an upright person gives up being upright and does wrong, he dies for it.
19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.	19 And when a wicked person gives up being wicked and does what is lawful and upright, because ofthis he lives.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.	20 But you say: What the Lord does is unjust! I shal judge each of you by what you do, House of Israel."'
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.	21 In the twelfth year of our captivity, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive arrived fromJerusalem and said to me, 'The city has been taken.'
22 Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.	22 Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived; he had opened mymouth before the fugitive came to me the next morning; my mouth had been opened and I was dumb no longer.
23 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,	23 The word of Yahweh was then addressed to me as follows,
24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.	24 'Son of man, the people living in those ruins on the soil of Israel say this, "Abraham was alone whenhe was given possession of this country. But we are many; the country has been given us as our heritage."
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?	25 'Very wel , tell them, "The Lord Yahweh says this: You eat blood, you raise your eyes to your foulidols, you shed blood; are you to own the country?
26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?	26 You rely on your swords, you engage in loathsome practices, each of you defiles his neighbour'swife; are you to own the country?"
27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.	27 Tel them this, "The Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, I swear it, those in the ruins wil fal to thesword, those in the countryside I shal give to the wild animals for them to eat, and those among the crags and incaves wil die of plague.
28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.	28 I shal make the country a desolate waste, and the pride of its strength will be at an end. Themountains of Israel wil be deserted and no one will pass that way again.
29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.	29 Then they wil know that I am Yahweh, when I make the country a desolate waste because of all thefilthy things they have done."
30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.	30 'Son of man, the members of your nation are talking about you on the ramparts and in doorways.They keep saying to one another, "Come and hear the word that has come from Yahweh."
31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.	31 They throng towards you; my people sit down in front of you and listen to your words, but they do notact on them. What they act on is the lie in their mouths, and their hearts are set on dishonest gain.
32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.	32 As far as they are concerned, you are like a love song pleasantly sung to a good musicalaccompaniment. They listen to your words, but no one acts on them.
33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.	33 When the thing takes place -- and it is beginning now -- they wil know that there has been a prophet among them.'