Ezekiel 33:2

2 "Son of man, speak to the people of your own country. Tell them, 'Suppose I send enemies against a land. And its people choose one of their men to stand guard.

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 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,

2 "Son of man, speak to the people of your own country. Tell them, 'Suppose I send enemies against a land. And its people choose one of their men to stand guard.

3 He sees the enemies coming against the land. He blows a trumpet to warn the people.

4 " 'Someone hears the trumpet. But he does not pay any attention to the warning. The enemies come and kill him. Then what happens to him will be his own fault.

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet. But he did not pay any attention to the warning. So what happened to him was his own fault. If he had paid attention, he would have saved himself.