Ezekiel 33:1-11

YAHWEH spoke to me, saying, “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘If I bring war to your nation, you must select a man and post him as a watchman. When he sees the enemy coming to attack, he must sound his shofar to warn the people. If people hear the warning but pay no attention and the sword overtakes them and kills them, they will bear the responsibility for their own deaths. Because they heard the sound of the shofar and paid no attention to the warning, their deaths are their own faults. But if they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. “ ‘If, however, the watchman sees the enemy approaching but has not blown his shofar to warn the people and the sword overtakes them and kills a single one of them, even though that person was a sinner, I will still hold the watchman responsible for that person’s death.’ “Son of man, I have appointed you as watchman for the people of Israel. When you hear me speak a warning, give them my warning. If I say to the wicked, ‘Evildoers, you are about to die,’ and you fail to warn them to renounce their evil ways, they will die for their guilt, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn the wicked to change their evil behavior and they refuse to change, the wicked will die for their sins, but you will have saved your own life.” “Son of man, say to the people of Israel, ‘You continually say: Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?’ “Say to them, ‘As surely as I, Lord YAHWEH, exist—I take no delight in the death of the wicked, but I delight in seeing them turn from their ways so they can live. So, repent and turn from your evil ways. People of Israel, why would you want to die? Turn and come back to me!’