Ezekiel 33:25-33

25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ¹You eat flesh with the blood and ²lift up your eyes to your idols and ³shed blood; shall you then possess the land?

26 ⁴You rely on the sword, ⁵you commit abominations, and ⁶each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?

27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: ⁷As I live, surely those who are in ⁸the waste places shall fall by ⁹the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to ¹⁰the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in ¹¹strongholds and in caves shall die by ¹²pestilence.

28 ¹³And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and ¹⁴her proud might shall come to an end, and ¹⁵the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through.

29 ¹⁶Then 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.

30 “As for you, ¹⁷son of man, ¹⁸your 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. ’

31 ¹⁹And 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 ²⁰with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and ²¹plays^[a] well on an instrument, for ²²they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

33 ²³When this comes—and come it will! — ²⁴then they will know that a prophet has been among them. ”

Ezekiel 33:25-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 33

This chapter treats of the prophet's duty, and the people's sins; contains a vindication of the justice of God; a threatening of destruction to those who remained in the land after the taking of the city; and a detection of the hypocrisy of the prophet's hearers. The duty of a watchman in general is declared, Eze 33:1-6, an application of this to the prophet, Eze 33:7: the sum of whose business is to warn the wicked man of his wickedness; and the consequence of doing, or not doing it, is expressed, Eze 33:8,9, an objection of the people, and the prophet's answer to it, Eze 33:10,11, who is bid to acquaint them, that a righteous man trusting to his righteousness, and sinning, should not live; and that a sinner repenting of his sins should not die, Eze 33:12-16, the people's charge of inequality in the ways of God is retorted upon them, and removed from the Lord, and proved against them, Eze 33:17-20, then follows a prophecy, delivered out after the news was brought of the taking of the city, threatening with ruin those that remained in the land, confident of safety, and that for their sins, which are particularly enumerated, Eze 33:21-29, and the chapter is closed with a discovery of the hypocrisy of those that attended the prophet's ministry, Eze 33:30-33.

Cross References

• 1. 33:25 [Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17]
• 2. 33:25 ch. 18:6
• 3. 33:25 See ch. 22:3
• 4. 33:26 [Gen. 27:40]
• 5. 33:26 ch. 22:11
• 6. 33:26 ch. 22:11
• 7. 33:27 See ch. 16:48
• 8. 33:27 [ch. 36:4]
• 9. 33:27 [ch. 14:21]
• 10. 33:27 [ch. 14:21]
• 11. 33:27 [1 Sam. 23:29]
• 12. 33:27 [ch. 14:21]
• 13. 33:28 [ch. 35:3, 9; Jer. 44:2, 6, 22]
• 14. 33:28 [ch. 7:24; 30:6]
• 15. 33:28 See ch. 6:2
• 16. 33:29 See ch. 6:7
• 17. 33:30 [See ver. 24 above]
• 18. 33:30 See ver. 2
• 19. 33:31 See ch. 8:1
• 20. 33:31 Ps. 78:36, 37; Isa. 29:13; Jer. 12:2; 1 John 3:18
• 21. 33:32 [1 Sam. 16:17]
• 22. 33:32 [Matt. 7:26; Luke 6:49]
• 23. 33:33 [ver. 29]
• 24. 33:33 ch. 2:5

Footnotes

• [a] 33:32 Hebrew 'like the singing of lustful songs with a beautiful voice and one who plays'