The Watchman’s Duty

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, speak to the asons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and ablows on the trumpet and warns the people,

4 then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and adoes not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his bblood will be on his own head.

5 ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have adelivered his life.

6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is ataken away 1in his iniquity; but his bblood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

7 “Now as for you, son of man, I have 1aappointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a 2message from My mouth and give them bwarning from Me.

8 “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will asurely die,’ 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 from your hand.

9 “But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he adoes not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have bdelivered your life.