Ezekiel 33:7

7 "Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me.

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 They heard the sound of the horn but ignored its warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had taken the warning, they would have saved themselves.

6 "'But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn't blow his horn to warn the people and the enemy comes and kills someone, that watchman must die because of his sin. I will hold him responsible for their deaths.'

7 "Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me.

8 Suppose I say to a wicked person, 'You wicked person, you will certainly die,' and you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin, and I will hold you responsible for his death.

9 But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his ways and he doesn't turn from them, then he will die because of his sin. However, you will save yourself.