NLT

NLT

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

Ezekiel 33 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
Ezekiel as Israel’s Watchman
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:1 - Once again a message came to me from the LORD:
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:2 - “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:3 - When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:4 - Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:5 - They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:6 - But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:7 - “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:8 - If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:9 - But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
The Watchman’s Message
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:10 - “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:11 - As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:12 - “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:13 - When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:14 - And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:15 - For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:16 - None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:17 - “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:18 - For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:19 - But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:20 - O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”
Explanation of Jerusalem’s Fall
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:21 - On January 8,[fn] during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:22 - The previous evening the LORD had taken hold of me and given me back my voice. So I was able to speak when this man arrived the next morning.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:23 - Then this message came to me from the LORD:
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:24 - “Son of man, the scattered remnants of Judah living among the ruined cities keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he gained possession of the entire land. We are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:25 - So tell these people, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols,[fn] and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:26 - Murderers! Idolaters! Adulterers! Should the land belong to you?’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:27 - “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword. And I will send wild animals to eat those living in the open fields. Those hiding in the forts and caves will die of disease.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:28 - I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:29 - When I have completely destroyed the land because of their detestable sins, then they will know that I am the LORD.’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:30 - “Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the LORD is saying!’
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:31 - So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:32 - You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!
Unchecked Copy BoxEze 33:33 - But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.”
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew On the fifth day of the tenth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on January 8, 585 B.C.; also see note on 1:1.
The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NLT
 [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NLT

Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

Ezekiel Chapter 33 — Additional Translations: