ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Ezekiel 33

Ezek. 33:1–39:29 After the Fall of Jerusalem. Following the central collection of foreign-nation oracles, the focus returns to Judah (or “the house of Israel,” as Ezekiel usually calls it). Before Jerusalem’s fall, Ezekiel’s message was primarily warning and doom, with occasional hints of hope. After Jerusalem’s destruction (33:21–22), the balance is reversed.

Ezek. 33:1–20 On the brink of hope, there is a brief pause to remind Ezekiel and his audience of their mutual responsibilities: vv. 1–9 describes again the role of the prophet as “watchman” (see 3:16–21); 33:10–20 takes another look at individual responsibility (see 18:21–29).

Ezek. 33:1–9 See also 3:16–21. God, prophet, and people are tightly bound together in these verses. The role of the watchman (33:2, 6, 7) dominates. He must act on what he sees (vv. 3, 6). The whole oracle is addressed to your people. They are responsible to obey the watchman’s warnings (vv. 4–5). The watchman must be alert for God’s actions (If I bring the sword . . . and if he sees, vv. 2–3).

Ezek. 33:11 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The Bible is clear that God will punish sin and maintain his holiness and justice. At the same time, God feels sorrow over the punishment and death of creatures created in his image.

Ezek. 33:21–22 This brief report provides the hinge on which the book of Ezekiel turns. Ezekiel’s muteness was first encountered in 3:22–27, and a precise date had been given when the siege of Jerusalem began (24:1–2, 25–27). The date is now January 585 b.c., about five months after the fall of the city. The arrival of the fugitive confirms the word spoken at the beginning of the siege (24:25–27), affirms Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry, and establishes the work of God in bringing it about. It also gives weight to the words that follow.

Ezek. 33:23–29 Ezekiel addresses those left in Judah after its fall. The Judeans’ logic of arguing (v. 24) from God’s blessings to the one (Abraham) to his presumed blessing the many (themselves) is deeply flawed.

Ezek. 33:25–26 You eat flesh with the blood. The Hebrew is literally “you eat over the blood,” a saying used also in Lev. 19:26. The reference is to improper sacrifice.

Ezek. 33:30–33 Ezekiel’s fellow exiles may have liked his message against Israelites back home (vv. 23–29). Their enjoyment of the rebuke aimed at their land-grabbing relatives ends when Ezekiel accuses them of also being greedy (v. 31). They treat prophetic words as mere entertainment (v. 32) rather than as messages from God that should be obeyed.