
Ezekiel 33:7-11
Proper 18A
7 So you, mortal,A I have madeB a sentinelC for the houseD of Israel;E
whenever you hearF a wordG from my mouth,H you shall give them warningI from me.
8 If I say to the wicked,J “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,”K and you do not speakL to warnM the wicked to turn from their ways,N
the wicked shall die in their iniquity,O but their bloodP I will requireQ at your hand.R
9 But if you warn the wicked to turnS from their ways and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have savedT your life.U
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel: ThusV you have said: “Our transgressionsW and our sinsX weigh upon us, and we waste awayY because of them; how then can we live?”Z
11 Say to them: As I live,AA saysBB the LordCC God,DD
I have no pleasureEE in the deathFF of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evilGG ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Image credit: “The Blue Fire of Kawah Ijen 1” in Indonesia by Thomas Fuhrmann, 2018.