1 Again the Word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,2 Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their borders and make him their watchman,3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the shofar and warns the people,4 then whoever listens to hear the sound of the shofar and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.5 He heard the sound of the shofar, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his soul.6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any soul from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.7 So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear the Word from My mouth and warn them from Me.8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall die the death! and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.10 Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: Thus you say, If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?11 Say to them: As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, I take no delight in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why will you die, O house of Israel?12 Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.13 When I say to the righteous that he shall live life, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of all his righteousness shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has done, he shall die.14 Again, when I say to the wicked, You shall die the death; if he turns from his sin and does justice and righteousness,15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life, not committing iniquity, he shall live life; he shall not die.16 None of all his sins which he has sinned shall be remembered against him; he has done justice and righteousness; he shall live life.17 Yet the children of your people say, The way of Jehovah is not fair. But as for them, it is their way which is not fair!18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does justice and righteousness, he shall live because of it.20 Yet you say, The way of Jehovah is not fair. O house of Israel, I shall judge each one of you according to his ways.21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, The city has been struck!22 Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.23 Then the Word of Jehovah came unto me, saying:24 Son of man, they who inhabit the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, Abraham was one, and he took possession of the land. But we are many; the land is given to us as a possession.25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah: You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Shall you then possess the land?26 You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile each one his neighbor’s wife. Shall you then possess the land?27 Say thus to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence.28 For I will make the land a desolate waste, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.29 Then they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all their abominations which they have done.30 As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, Please come and hear what the Word is that comes from Jehovah.31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they act out love, but their hearts go after their unjust gain.32 Indeed you are to them as a singer of love songs, as one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.33 So when this comes to pass (surely it will come); then they will know that a prophet has been among them.

1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,2 and he seide, Thou, sone of man, speke to the sones of thi puple, and thou schalt seie to hem, A lond whanne Y bringe in a swerd on it, and the puple of the lond takith o man of hise laste men, and makith hym aspiere on hym,3 and he seeth a swerd comynge on the lond, and sowneth with a clarioun, and tellith to the puple,4 forsothe a man that herith, who euer he is, the sowne of the clarioun, and kepith not him silf, and the swerd cometh, and takith hym awei, the blood of hym schal be on the heed of hym.5 He herde the sown of the clarioun, and kepte not hym silf, his blood schal be in hym; forsothe if he kepith hym silf, he schal saue his lijf.6 That if the aspiere seeth a swerd comynge, and sowneth not with a clarioun, and the puple kepith not hym silf, and the swerd cometh, and takith awei a man of hem, sotheli he is takun in his wickidnesse; but Y schal seke the blood of hym of the hond of the aspiere.7 And, thou, sone of man, Y yaf thee aspiere to the hous of Israel; therfor thou schalt here of my mouth a word, and schalt telle to hem of me.8 If whanne Y seie to the wickid man, Thou, wickid man, schalt die bi deth, thou spekist not, that the wickid man kepe hym silf fro his weie, thilke wickid man schal die in his wickidnesse, but Y schal seke his blood of thin hond.9 Forsothe if whanne thou tellist to the wickid man, that he be conuertid fro his weies, he is not conuertid fro his weie, he schal die in his wickidnesse; certis thou hast delyuered thi soule.10 Therfore thou, sone of man, seie to the hous of Israel, Thus ye spaken, seiynge, Oure wickidnessis and oure synnes ben on vs, and we failen in tho; hou therfor moun we lyue? seie thou to hem,11 Y lyue, seith the Lord God, Y nyle the deth of the wickid man, but that the wickid man be conuertid fro his weie, and lyue; be ye conuertid fro youre worste weies, and whi schulen ye die, the hous of Israel?12 Therfor thou, sone of man, seie to the sones of thi puple, The riytfulnesse of a riytful man schal not delyuere hym, in whateuer dai he doith synne; and the wickidnesse of a wickid man schal not anoye him, in what euere dai he is conuertid fro his wickidnesse; and a iust man schal not mowe lyue in his riytfulnesse, in what euer dai he doith synne.13 Also if Y seie to a iust man, that he schal lyue bi lijf, and he tristith in his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnesse, alle his riytfulnessis schulen be youun to foryetyng, and in his wickidnesse which he wrouyte, in that he schal die.14 Forsothe if Y seie to the wickid man, Thou schalt die bi deth, and he doith penaunce for his synne, and doith dom and riytfulnesse,15 and if thilke wickid man restorith a wed, and yeldith raueyn, and goith in comaundementis of lijf, and doith not ony vniust thing, he schal lyue bi lijf, and schal not die.16 Alle hise synnes which he synnede, schulen not be arettid to hym; he dide doom and riytfulnesse, he schal lyue bi lijf.17 And the sones of thi puple seiden, The weie of the Lord is not euene weiyte; and the weie of hem is vniust.18 For whanne a iust man goith awei fro his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnessis, he schal die in tho;19 and whanne a wickid man goith awei fro his wickidnesse, and doith dom and riytfulnes, he schal lyue in tho.20 And ye seien, The weie of the Lord is not riytful. Y schal deme ech man bi hise weies of you, the hous of Israel.21 And it was doon in the tweluethe yeer, in the tenthe monethe, in the fyuethe dai of the monethe of our passyng ouer, he that fledde fro Jerusalem cam to me, and seide, The citee is distried.22 Forsothe the hond of the Lord was maad to me in the euentid, bifore that he cam that fledde, and he openyde my mouth, til he cam to me eerli; and whanne my mouth was openyd, Y was no more stille.23 And the word of the Lord was maad to me, and he seide,24 Thou, sone of man, thei that dwellen in `thingis in poynt to falle doun on the erthe of Israel, seien, spekynge, Abraham was oon, and bi eritage he hadde the lond in possessioun; forsothe we ben manye, the lond is youun to vs in to possessioun.25 Therfor thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord God seith these thingis, Whether ye that eten in blood, and reisen youre iyen to youre vnclennessis, and scheden blood, schulen haue in possessioun the lond bi eritage?26 Ye stoden in youre swerdis, ye diden youre abhomynaciouns, and ech man defoulide the wijf of his neiybore; and schulen ye welde the lond bi eritage?27 Thou schalt seie these thingis to hem, Thus seith the Lord God, Y lyue, for thei that dwellen in `thingis redi to falle doun, schulen falle doun bi swerd, and he that is in the feld, schal be youun to beestis to be deuourid; but thei that ben in stronge holdis and in dennes, schulen die bi pestilence.28 And Y schal yyue the lond in to wildirnesse, and in to desert, and the pryde and strengthe therof schal faile; and the hillis of Israel schulen be maad desolat, for noon is that schal passe bi tho.29 And thei schulen wite, that Y am the Lord, whanne Y schal yyue her lond desolat and desert, for alle her abhomynaciouns whiche thei wrouyten.30 And thou, sone of man, the sones of thi puple that speken of thee bisidis wallis, and in the doris of housis, and seien, oon to an other, a man to his neiybore, and speken, Come ye, and here we, what is the word goynge out fro the Lord;31 and thei comen to thee, as if my puple entrith, and my puple sitten bifore thee, and thei heren thi wordis, and doon not tho; for thei turnen tho in to the song of her mouth, and her herte sueth her auerice;32 and it is to hem as a song of musik, which is songun bi soft and swete sown; and thei heren thi wordis, and thei doon not tho;33 and whanne that that is bifore seide cometh, for lo! it cometh, thanne thei schulen wite, that `profetis weren among hem.