1Herren sagde til mig:2„Du menneske, tal til dit folk og giv dem følgende budskab: Når jeg sender en fjendtlig hær imod et land, udpeger landets befolkning en vagtpost.3Og når vagtposten får øje på den fremstormende hær, blæser han straks alarm, så folket er advaret.4Hvis der nu er nogle, der ikke tager advarslen alvorligt, og derfor senere bliver dræbt, så er det deres egen skyld.5For de hørte jo alarmen, men rettede sig ikke efter den. De er selv skyld i deres død, for hvis de havde lyttet til advarslen, kunne de have reddet livet.6Men hvis nu vagtposten ser den fremstormende hær og ikke blæser alarm for at advare folket, så er det vagtposten, der er skyld i, at de omkommer. Folket dør godt nok på grund af deres egne synder, men jeg vil kræve vagtposten til regnskab for deres død.7Du menneske, jeg har udvalgt dig til vagtpost for Israels folk. Derfor skal du høre godt efter, hvad jeg siger, og så advare folket.8Hvis jeg siger, at nogle onde mennesker skal dø for deres ondskabs skyld, og hvis du ikke advarer dem, så de får mulighed for at omvende sig, da skal de onde mennesker godt nok dø på grund af deres egne synder, men jeg vil kræve dig til regnskab for deres død.9Advarer du dem derimod, og de nægter at omvende sig, skal de dø på grund af deres synder, men du er uden skyld i deres død.10Du menneske, du skal sige til Israels folk: I er klar over, at I lider på grund af jeres synder og overtrædelser, og at det snart er ude med jer. I spørger, om I ikke kan gøre noget for at overleve.11Sig til dem: Så sandt jeg lever, siger Herren, jeg har ingen glæde af, at de onde skal dø. Jeg vil meget hellere se dem omvende sig fra deres ondskab, så de kan redde livet. Åh Israel, omvend jer dog fra jeres synder! Hvorfor ønsker I at dø?12Du menneske, sig til mit folk: Hvis retskafne mennesker vender sig bort fra mig og gør oprør, kan alle deres tidligere gode gerninger ikke redde dem fra straffen. Og hvis syndige mennesker omvender sig, skal de ikke dø på grund af deres tidligere synder.13Godt nok har jeg sagt, at retskafne mennesker får et godt liv. Men hvis de bliver for selvsikre og begynder at synde, kan alle deres tidligere gode gerninger ikke redde dem. De skal dø, fordi de har gjort oprør og syndet imod mig.14Men hvis onde mennesker lytter til min advarsel, omvender sig fra deres synd og begynder at handle retfærdigt, bliver de ikke straffet med døden.15Hvis de betaler det tilbage, de har stjålet, hvis de udleverer et pant, de har taget i sikkerhed, og hvis de begynder at følge mine love, som sigter på et godt liv, og holder sig fra uretfærdighed, så skal de leve og ikke dø.16De vil ikke blive dømt på grund af deres tidligere synder, for de har besluttet at gøre det rigtige, og derfor har de ret til at leve.17‚Det er ikke fair!’ siger I. Hør lige her, Israels folk: Er det mig, der ikke er fair? Er det ikke snarere jer?18Når retskafne mennesker holder op med at handle ret og i stedet vælger at synde, er det så ikke fair, at de må bære straffen for deres synd og dø?19Og når onde mennesker tager afstand fra deres tidligere synder og i stedet vælger at adlyde min lov, er det så ikke fair, at de redder livet?20Hvordan kan I påstå, at det ikke er fair? Bør jeg ikke dømme jer efter jeres handlinger?”21På den femte dag i den tiende måned i det 12. år af vores eksil ankom en flygtning fra Jerusalem og meddelte, at byen var faldet.22Aftenen før havde jeg oplevet Herrens kraft over mig, så da manden fra Jerusalem ankom, kunne jeg igen tale.[1]23Herren sagde da til mig:24„Du menneske, de overlevende fra Judas folk, som bor spredt mellem ruinerne i Israels land, siger: ‚Abraham var kun én person, men han fik lovning på at få hele det hellige land i eje. Vi er alle sammen hans efterkommere, så det løfte må også gælde os.’25Men jeg, Herren, siger: I spiser kød med blod i, dyrker jeres afskyelige afguder og begår mord. Tror I så, at jeg vil give jer landet i eje?26I stoler på jeres egne våben. I begår de frygteligste synder og er ægteskabsbrydere alle sammen. Og I vil have landet tilbage?27Sig til dem: Så sandt jeg lever, siger Herren, skal de overlevende blandt Judas ruiner også falde for sværdet! De, som prøver at skjule sig i det fri, skal ædes af de vilde dyr, og de, som gemmer sig i fæstninger og huler, skal dø af sygdom.28Jeg gør landet til en ødemark og knækker dets stolthed. Jeg gør bjergene så øde, at ingen tør rejse gennem dem.29Når jeg har lagt hele landet i ruiner som følge af folkets synder, vil de indse, at jeg er Herren.30Du menneske, dine landsmænd taler om dig, når de mødes ved murene og i døråbningerne. ‚Kom, lad os gå hen og høre, hvilke budskaber Herren har til os,’ siger de.31Så stimler de sammen hos dig og sætter sig ned for at høre på dig. Men de har ikke tænkt sig at adlyde mine ord, for de taler altid om deres egne ønsker, og de er mest optaget af at søge efter penge og profit.32For dem er du blot underholdning. Du er som en, der synger kærlighedssange med en smuk stemme og spiller på harpe for dem. De hører ordene, men de vil ikke adlyde.33Men når profetierne bliver til virkelighed—og vær sikker på, at hvert eneste ord vil gå i opfyldelse—vil de indse, at det var en Herrens profet, der talte til dem.”
1The word of the Lord came to me:2“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, (Ez 2,1; Ez 3,11; Ez 14,17; Ez 33,12; Ez 33,17; Ez 33,30; Ez 37,18; Mika 7,4)3and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, (Amos 3,6)4then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. (Ez 3,18; Ez 18,13)5He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. (Ez 3,19)6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. (Ez 3,18)7“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. (Ez 3,17; Ez 33,2)8If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Ez 33,6)9But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Ez 3,19; Ez 33,4; 1.Tim 4,16)
Why Will You Die, Israel?
10“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ (Es 49,14; Ez 2,1; Ez 4,17; Ez 37,11)11Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ez 16,48; Ez 18,23; Ez 18,31)12“And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness[1] when he sins. (2.Krøn 7,14; Ez 18,24; Ez 33,2; Ez 33,18)13Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. (Ez 33,12)14Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, (1.Mos 2,17; Ez 3,18; Ez 18,27)15if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. (3.Mos 6,2; 3.Mos 6,4; Ez 18,7; Ez 20,11; Luk 19,8)16None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live. (Ez 18,22)17“Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just. (Ez 18,25; Ez 18,29; Ez 33,12)18When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. (Ez 18,26; Ez 33,12)19And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. (Ez 18,27; Ez 33,11)20Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.” (Ez 18,30)
Jerusalem Struck Down
21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been struck down.” (2.Kong 25,2; Ez 1,2; Ez 20,1; Ez 24,26; Ez 26,2; Ez 40,1)22Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute. (Ez 1,3; Ez 24,26)23The word of the Lord came to me:24“Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ (Es 51,2; Ez 2,1; Ez 36,4; Matt 3,9; Luk 3,8; Ap G 7,5)25Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land? (1.Mos 9,4; 3.Mos 3,17; Ez 18,6; Ez 22,3)26You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land? (1.Mos 27,40; Ez 22,11)27Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence. (1.Sam 23,29; Ez 14,21; Ez 16,48; Ez 36,4)28And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. (Jer 44,2; Jer 44,6; Jer 44,22; Ez 6,2; Ez 7,24; Ez 30,6; Ez 35,3; Ez 35,9)29Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed. (Ez 6,7)30“As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ (Ez 33,2; Ez 33,24)31And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. (Salm 78,36; Es 29,13; Jer 12,2; Ez 8,1; 1.Joh 3,18)32And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays[2] well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. (1.Sam 16,17; Matt 7,26; Luk 6,49)33When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ez 2,5; Ez 33,29)