American Standard Version ASV
Holman Christian Standard Bible CSB
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
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"Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
3 if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
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and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his trumpet to warn the people.
4 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
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Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
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[Since] he heard the sound of the trumpet but ignored the warning, his blood is on his own hands. If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
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However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn't blow the trumpet, so that the people aren't warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives, then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.
7 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
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"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.
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If I say to the wicked: Wicked one, you will surely die, but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
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But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn't turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
10 And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?
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"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have said this: Our transgressions and our sins are [heavy] on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
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Tell them: As I live"-the declaration of the Lord God -"I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?
12 And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
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"Now, son of man, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won't be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.
13 When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in his iniquity that he hath committed, therein shall he die.
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When I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
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"So when I tell the wicked person: You will surely die, but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right-
15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
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he returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity-he will certainly live; he will not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
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None of the sins he committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
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"But your people say: The Lord's way isn't fair, even though it is their own way that isn't fair.
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein.
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When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die on account of this.
19 And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
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But when a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
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Yet you say: The Lord's way isn't fair. I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel."
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
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In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, "The city has been taken!"
22 Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
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Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
23 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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Then the word of the Lord came to me:
24 Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
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"Son of man, those who live in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying: Abraham was only one person, yet he received possession of the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
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Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: You eat [meat] with blood [in it], raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land?
26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
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You have relied on your swords, you have committed abominations, and each of you has defiled his neighbor's wife. Should you then receive possession of the land?
27 Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
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"Tell them this: This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.
28 And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.
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I will make the land a desolate waste, and its proud strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, with no one passing through.
29 Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.
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They will know that I am the Lord when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.
30 And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.
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"Now, son of man, your people are talking about you near the [city] walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother: Come and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord!
31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.
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So My people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don't obey them. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue unjust gain.
32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
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Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don't obey them.
33 And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
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Yet when it comes -and it will definitely come-then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
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Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.