Ezekiel 3:17

Hebrew Bible

15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, who lived by the Kebar River. I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. 16 At the end of seven days the Lord’s message came to me: 17Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him—you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked lifestyle so that he may live—that wicked person will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life.

Ezekiel 33:7

Hebrew Bible

5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ 7As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

 Notes and References

"... It was usual to accompany fasting with loud weeping. But insincere fasting implied no genuine wish to be heard on high (Isaiah 58:4). God will only reply to the cries of those who show true remorse by caring for others (Isaiah 58:5-12; Proverbs 21:13). When God has shown the prophet Ezekiel all the illegal forms of worship practiced in the temple he concludes, But now I – I will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and if they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not listen to them (Ezekiel 8:18). The few times that God is the subject of the Hebrew verb ‘to be silent’ it denotes total passivity on his part. In Isaiah 62:1 the prophet declares that he will no longer resign to such a passive attitude. Persisting in wordless mourning is a form of self-pity that is unseemly if higher issues are at stake ... Is this unrealistic? At this moment of Jerusalem’s history, the walls of the city did not exist anymore. This is pure faith-talk. The prophet is talking about the city he dreams up. The watchmen he appoints are the prophets (Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 3:17; 33:2-7; Isaiah 21:6; 56:10; Hosea 9:8; Micah 7:4; Habakkuk 2:1) who share his dream. It is important to observe that people need not meekly resign to their fate, but may rebel against the silence of God and refuse to give up their dreams ..."

Korpel, Marjo C. A. The Silent God (pp. 241-242) Brill, 2011

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