Ezekiel 33:7

7 "And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from 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 [For] he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But [if] he took warning, he saved his life.

6 And [as for] the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and {he does not blow} the horn, and the people [are] not warned, and [the] sword comes and it takes {their lives}, he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.'

7 "And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

8 {When I say} to the wicked, 'Wicked [one], you will certainly die,' and you {did not speak} to warn [the] wicked from his way, he, [the] wicked, will die by his guilt, but his blood I will seek from your hand.

9 But, you, if you warn [the] wicked from his way, to turn from it, and {he does not turn} from his way, he will die by his guilt, and you will have saved your life.

Footnotes

• [a] Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"