God Chooses Ezekiel to Be a Watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ² “Son of man,^[a] speak to your people. Say to them, ‘Whenever I bring enemy soldiers to fight against a country, the people choose someone to be a watchman. ³ If this guard sees enemy soldiers coming, he blows the trumpet and warns the people. ⁴ If people hear the warning but ignore it, the enemy will capture them and take them away as prisoners. They will be responsible for their own death. ⁵ They heard the trumpet, but they ignored the warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had paid attention to the warning, they could have saved their own lives.

⁶ “‘But what if the guard sees the enemy soldiers coming, but does not blow the trumpet? Since he doesn’t warn the people, the enemy will capture them and take them away as prisoners. They will be taken away because they sinned, but the guard will also be responsible for their deaths.’

⁷ “Now, son of man, I am choosing you to be a watchman for the family of Israel. If you hear a message from my mouth, you must warn the people for me. ⁸ I might say to you, ‘These evil people will die.’ Then you must go warn them for me. If you don’t warn them and tell them to change their lives, those evil people will die because they sinned. But I will make you responsible for their deaths. ⁹ But if you do warn the evil people to change their lives and stop sinning, and if they refuse to stop, they will die because they sinned. But you have saved your life.

God Does Not Want to Destroy People

¹⁰ “So, son of man, speak to the family of Israel for me. They might say, ‘We have sinned and broken the law. Our sins are too heavy to bear. We rot away because of them. What can we do to live?’

¹¹ “You must say to them, ‘The Lord God says: By my life, I swear that I don’t enjoy seeing people die—not even evil people! I don’t want them to die. I want them to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so that they can really live. So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Why must you die, family of Israel?’

¹² “Son of man, tell your people: ‘The good things people did in the past will not save them if they become bad and begin to sin. In the same way the bad things people did in the past will not destroy them if they turn from their evil. So remember, the good things people did in the past will not save them if they begin to sin.’

¹³ “Maybe I will tell good people that they will live. But maybe those good people will begin to think that the good things they did in the past will save them. So they might begin to do bad things, but I will not remember the good things they did in the past! No, they will die because of the bad things they begin to do.

¹⁴ “Or maybe I will tell some evil people that they will die. But they might change their lives, stop sinning, and begin to live right. They might become good and fair. ¹⁵ They might give back the things they took when they loaned money. They might pay for the things they stole. They might begin to follow the laws that give life and stop doing bad things. Then they will surely live. They will not die. ¹⁶ I will not remember the bad things they did in the past, because now they live right and are fair. So they will live!

¹⁷ “But your people say, ‘That’s not fair! The Lord cannot be like that!’

“But they are the people who are not fair! They are the people who must change! ¹⁸ If good people stop doing good and begin to sin, they will die because of their sins. ¹⁹ And if evil people stop doing wrong and start living right and being fair, they will live. ²⁰ You still say that I am not fair, but I am telling you the truth. Family of Israel, everyone will be judged for what they do!”

Jerusalem Has Been Taken

²¹ On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year of exile,^[b] a person who had escaped from the battle in Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been taken!”

²² The evening before that person came to me, the power of the Lord came on me. The Lord opened my mouth. So when that person came, I could speak again. ²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²⁴ “Son of man, there are Israelites who live in the ruined cities in Israel. They are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, and God gave him all this land. Now, we are many people, so surely this land belongs to us! It is our land!’

²⁵ “You must tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You eat meat with the blood still in it. You look to your idols for help. You murder people, so why should I give you this land? ²⁶ You depend on your own sword. Each of you does terrible things. Each of you commits sexual sins with his neighbor’s wife, so you cannot have the land!’

²⁷ “‘You must tell them that this is what the Lord God says: “By my life, I promise that the people living in the ruined cities will be killed with a sword! If any people are out in the country, I will let animals kill and eat them. If people are hiding in the fortresses and the caves, they will die from disease. ²⁸ I will make the land empty and a waste. That country will lose all the things it was proud of. The mountains of Israel will become empty. No one will pass through that place. ²⁹ The people have done many terrible things, so I will make that place an empty wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

³⁰ “‘And now about you, son of man. Your people lean against the walls and stand in their doorways talking about you. They tell each other, “Come on, let’s go hear what the Lord says.” ³¹ So they come to you as if they were my people. They sit in front of you as if they were my people. They hear your words, but they will not do the things you say. They only want to do what feels good. They only want to cheat people and make more money.

³² “‘You are nothing to these people but a singer singing love songs. You have a good voice. You play your instrument well. They listen to your words, but they will not do what you say. ³³ But the things you sing about really will happen, and then the people will know that there was a prophet living among them.’”

Israel Is Like a Flock of Sheep

34 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ² “Son of man,^[c] speak against the shepherds of Israel for me. Speak to them for me. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘You shepherds of Israel have only been feeding yourselves. It will be very bad for you! Why don’t you shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat sheep and use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the fat sheep, but you don’t feed the flock. ⁴ You have not made the weak strong. You have not cared for the sick sheep. You have not put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. Some of the sheep wandered away, and you did not go get them and bring them back. You did not go to look for the lost sheep. No, you were cruel and severe—that’s the way you tried to lead the sheep!

⁵ “‘And now the sheep are scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for every wild animal, so they were scattered. ⁶ My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth. There was no one to search or to look for them.’”

⁷ So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord. ⁸ The Lord God says, “I swear that wild animals will catch my sheep, and my people will become food for all those animals because they did not have any real shepherds. My shepherds did not look out for my flock. They did not feed my flock. No, they only killed the sheep and fed themselves!”

⁹ So, you shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ The Lord God says, “I am against the shepherds. I will demand my sheep from them. I will fire them. They will not be my shepherds anymore. Then the shepherds will not be able to feed themselves, and I will save my flock from their mouths. Then my sheep will not be food for them.”

¹¹ The Lord God says, “I myself will be their Shepherd. I will search for my sheep and take care of them. ¹² If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. In the same way I will search for my sheep. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. ¹³ I will bring them back from those nations. I will gather them from those countries and bring them back to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the places where people live. ¹⁴ I will lead them to grassy fields. They will go to the place high on the mountains of Israel and lie down on good ground and eat the grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ Yes, I will feed my flock, and I will lead them to a place of rest.” This is what the Lord God said.

¹⁶ “I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong, but I will destroy the fat and powerful shepherds. I will feed them the punishment they deserve.”

¹⁷ This is what the Lord God says: “And you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another. I will judge between the male sheep and the male goats. ¹⁸ You can eat the grass growing on the good land. So why do you also crush the grass that other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water. So why do you also stir the water that other sheep want to drink? ¹⁹ My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!”

²⁰ So the Lord God says to them: “I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep! ²¹ You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away, ²² so I will save my flock. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

²⁵ “And I will make a peace agreement with my sheep. I will take harmful animals away from the land. Then the sheep can be safe in the desert and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill. I will cause the rains to fall at the right time and will shower them with blessings. ²⁷ And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. The earth will give its harvest, so the sheep will be safe on their land. I will break the yokes on them and save them from the power of the people who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁸ They will not be caught like an animal by the nations anymore. Those animals will not eat them anymore. No, they will live safely. No one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will give them some land that will make a good garden. Then they will not suffer from hunger in that land or suffer the insults from the nations anymore. ³⁰ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God. The family of Israel will know that I am with them and that they are my people.” This is what the Lord God said!

³¹ “You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. You are only human beings, and I am your God.” This is what the Lord God said.

The Message Against Edom

35 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ² “Son of man,^[d] look toward Mount Seir and speak against it for me. ³ Say to it, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

⁵ “‘Why? Because you have always been against my people. You used your sword against Israel at the time of their trouble, at the time of their final punishment.’” ⁶ So the Lord God says, “But I promise by my own life that I will let death have you. Death will chase you. You did not hate killing people, so death will chase you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir an empty ruin. I will kill everyone who enters or leaves that city. ⁸ I will cover its mountains with those who are killed. There will be dead bodies all over your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. ⁹ I will make you empty forever. No one will live in your cities. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁰ You said, “These two nations and countries, Israel and Judah, will be mine. We will take them for our own.”

But the Lord is there! ¹¹ And the Lord God says, “You were jealous of my people. You were angry and hateful to them. So by my life, I swear that I will punish you the same way you hurt them! I will punish you and let my people know that I am with them. ¹² And then you, too, will know that I am the Lord.

“I have heard you making fun of Israel’s hill country. You said, ‘It is in ruins, just waiting for us to swallow it up.’ ¹³ Your proud boasting is really against me. Time after time you have insulted me, and I have heard every word.”

¹⁴ This is what the Lord God says: “All the earth will be happy when I destroy you. ¹⁵ You were happy when the country of Israel was destroyed. I will treat you the same way. Mount Seir and the whole country of Edom will be destroyed. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

The Land of Israel Will Be Rebuilt

36 “Son of man,^[e] speak to the mountains of Israel for me. Tell them to listen to the word of the Lord! ² Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘The enemy said bad things against you. They said, Hurray! Now the ancient mountains^[f] will be ours!’

³ “So speak to the mountains of Israel for me. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘The enemy destroyed your cities and attacked you from every direction. They did this so that you would belong to the other nations. Then people talked and whispered about you.’”

⁴ So, mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains, hills, streams, valleys, empty ruins, and abandoned cities that have been looted and laughed at by the other nations around them. ⁵ The Lord God says, “I swear, I will let my strong feelings speak for me! I will let Edom and the other nations feel my anger. They took my land for themselves. They really had a good time when they showed how much they hated this land. They took the land for themselves, just so they could destroy it.”

⁶ “So say these things about the land of Israel. Speak to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams, and to the valleys. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: ‘I will let my strong feelings and anger speak for me, because you had to suffer the insults from those nations.’”

⁷ So this is what the Lord God says: “I am the one making this promise! I swear that the nations around you will have to suffer for those insults.

⁸ “But mountains of Israel, you will grow new trees and produce fruit for my people Israel. My people will soon come back. ⁹ I am with you, and I will help you. People will till your soil and plant seeds in you. ¹⁰ There will be many people living on you. The whole family of Israel—all of them—will live there. The cities will have people living in them. The destroyed places will be rebuilt. ¹¹ I will give you many people and animals, and they will grow and have many children. I will bring people to live on you as in the past. I will make it better for you than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will lead many people—my people, Israel—to your land. You will be their property, and you will not take away their children again.”

¹³ This is what the Lord God says: “Land of Israel, people say bad things to you. They say you destroyed your people. They say you took the children away from your people. ¹⁴ But you will not destroy people anymore or take away their children again.” This is what the Lord God said. ¹⁵ “I will not let those other nations insult you anymore. You will not be hurt by them anymore. You will not take the children away from your people again.” This is what the Lord God said.

The Lord Will Protect His Name

¹⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ¹⁷ “Son of man, the family of Israel lived in their own country, but they made that land filthy by the bad things they did. To me, they were like a woman who becomes unclean because of her monthly time of bleeding. ¹⁸ They spilled blood on the ground when they murdered people in the land. They made the land filthy with their idols, so I showed them how angry I was. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations and spread them through all the lands. I gave them the punishment they deserved for the bad things they did. ²⁰ But even in those other nations, they ruined my good name. How? Those nations said, ‘These are the Lord’s people, but they left his land.’

²¹ “The people of Israel ruined my holy name wherever they went, and I felt sorry for my name. ²² So tell the family of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Family of Israel, you ruined my holy name in the places where you went. I am going to do something to stop this. I will not do it for your sake, Israel. I will do it for my holy name. ²³ I will show the nations how holy my great name really is. You ruined my good name in those nations! But I will show you that I am holy. I will make you respect my name, and then those nations will know that I am the Lord.’” This is what the Lord God said.

²⁴ “I will take you out of those nations, gather you together, and bring you back to your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle pure water on you and make you pure. I will wash away all your filth, the filth from those nasty idols, and I will make you pure. ²⁶ I will also put a new spirit in you to change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart. ²⁷ I will put my Spirit inside you^[g] and change you so that you will obey my laws. You will carefully obey my commands. ²⁸ Then you will live in the land that I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ Also, I will save you and keep you from becoming unclean. I will command the grain to grow. I will not bring a famine against you. ³⁰ I will give you large crops of fruit from your trees and the harvest from your fields so that you will never again feel the shame of being hungry in a foreign country. ³¹ You will remember the bad things you did. You will remember that those things were not good. Then you will hate yourselves because of your sins and the terrible things you did.”

³² The Lord God says, “I want you to remember this: I am not doing these things for your good! I am doing them for my good name. Family of Israel, you should be ashamed and embarrassed about the way you lived!”

³³ This is what the Lord God says: “On the day that I wash away your sins, I will bring people back to your cities. The ruined cities will be rebuilt. ³⁴ People will begin again to work the land so when other people pass by they will not see ruins anymore. ³⁵ They will say, ‘In the past, this land was ruined, but now it is like the Garden of Eden. The cities were destroyed. They were ruined and empty, but now they are protected, and there are people living in them.’

³⁶ “Then the nations that are still around you will know I am the Lord and that I rebuilt those places. I planted things in this land that was empty. I am the Lord. I said this, and I will make them happen!”

³⁷ This is what the Lord God says: “I will also let the family of Israel come to me and ask me to do these things for them. I will make them grow and become many people. They will be like flocks of sheep. ³⁸ During the special festivals, Jerusalem was filled with flocks of sheep and goats that had been made holy. In the same way the cities and ruined places will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”