15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.f And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven daysg—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:h 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchmani for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.j 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,k’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die forb their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.l 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turnm from their wickednessn or from their evil ways, they will dieo for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.p

20 “Again, when a righteous person turnsq from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling blockr before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.s 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.t”