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And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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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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if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land , he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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When the righteous turneth from his righteousness , and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein.
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And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness , and doeth that which is lawful and right , he shall live thereby.
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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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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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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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And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh ,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.