Ezekiel 33:2

2 "Human, speak to your people and say to them: 'Suppose I bring a war against a land. The people of the land may choose one of their men and make him their watchman.

Ezekiel 33:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:2

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people
The Jews, of whom the prophet was; and designs those who were with him in the captivity; and who, having behaved so ill, the Lord will not own them for his people, but calls them the prophet's people, and the children of them: and say unto them, when I bring the sword upon a land;
a foreign enemy with an army to invade it, or any other judgment; for there is no public calamity whatever that comes upon a people, but what is by the order, direction, or permission of the Lord. The Targum is,

``those that kill with the sword;''
an army of men that enter into a land sword in hand, with an intent to conquer and destroy: if the people of the land take a man of their coasts: that lives upon their borders, and so is acquainted with all the places where it is most likely an enemy should enter; or a man out of the midst of them, as the Targum; so this phrase sometimes signifies, ( Genesis 47:2 ) , one of their own people, who might be thought to have their good and safety at heart, and might be trusted: and set him for their watchman:
on some place of eminence; on the walls, or in a tower of a frontier town, from whence he might descry the enemy coming at a distance.

Ezekiel 33:2 In-Context

1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:
2 "Human, speak to your people and say to them: 'Suppose I bring a war against a land. The people of the land may choose one of their men and make him their watchman.
3 When he sees the enemy coming to attack the land, he will blow the trumpet and warn the people.
4 If they hear the sound of the trumpet but do nothing, the enemy will come and kill them. They will be responsible for their own deaths.
5 They heard the sound of the trumpet but didn't do anything. So they are to blame for their own deaths. If they had done something, they would have saved their own lives.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.