Ezekiel 3:15-18

3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, 1  who lived by the Kebar River. 2  I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. 3 

3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 4  3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman 5  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” 6  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, 7  but I will hold you accountable for his death. 8 

Ezekiel 3:26-27

3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove 9  them, for they are a rebellious house. 3:27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue 10  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, 11  for they are a rebellious house.

1 sn The name “Tel Abib” is a transliteration of an Akkadian term meaning “mound of the flood,” i.e., an ancient mound. It is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.

2 tn Or “canal.”

3 sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.

4 sn This phrase occurs about fifty times in the book of Ezekiel.

5 tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

6 sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.

7 tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

8 tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).

9 tn Heb “you will not be to them a reprover.” In Isa 29:21 and Amos 5:10 “a reprover” issued rebuke at the city gate.

10 tn Heb “open your mouth.”

11 tn Heb “the listener will listen, the refuser will refuse.” Because the word for listening can also mean obeying, the nuance may be that the obedient will listen, or that the one who listens will obey. Also, although the verbs are not jussive as pointed in the MT, some translate them with a volitive sense: “the one who listens – let that one listen, the one who refuses – let that one refuse.”