3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle 5 before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 3:21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he 6 does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
1 sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.
2 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.”
3 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).
4 tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.
5 tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.
6 tn Heb “the righteous man.”