Ezekiel 33:7

7 "Now, mortal man, I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You must pass on to them the warnings I give you.

Ezekiel 33:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:7

So thou, O son of man
Here begins the application of the parable to the prophet himself, describing his office and his duty: I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
which is repeated from ( Ezekiel 3:17 ) , (See Gill on Ezekiel 3:17). The Targum is,

``I have appointed thee a teacher;''

a spiritual watchman; so pastors, teachers, ministers of the Gospel, are watchmen, ( 2 Timothy 4:5 ) ( Hebrews 13:17 ) : therefore thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and warn them
from me.
The Targum is,

``thou shalt receive the word from my Word, and warn them from sinning before me.''

Ezekiel 33:7 In-Context

5 His death is his own fault, because he paid no attention to the warning. If he had paid attention, he could have escaped.

6 If, however, the lookout sees the enemy coming and does not sound the alarm, the enemy will come and kill those sinners, but I will hold the lookout responsible for their death.

7 "Now, mortal man, I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You must pass on to them the warnings I give you.

8 If I announce that an evil person is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, then he will die, still a sinner, and I will hold you responsible for his death.

9 If you do warn an evil person and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared."