Section 11 of 1833:16–21Ezekiel

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King James VersionEzekiel 3:16–21

And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Ezekiel 3:16–21

The Watchman Must Warn the Wicked and the Righteous

A watchman is appointed to warn, not to manage souls

At the end of seven days the word comes: Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

When God says to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and the watchman does not warn, the wicked dies in iniquity, but his blood is required at the watchman's hand. If he warns and they will not turn, he has delivered his soul. The same pattern holds for a righteous person who turns from righteousness.

Responsibility is the warning given, not the life seized

The hearer's response remains morally significant. Faithful speech is the charge. Outcomes are not guaranteed, and another adult's choice is not the watchman's to own as total guilt.

Watchman language does not authorize surveillance, coercive control, victim blaming, or claiming responsibility for everything another person decides. It is not a neighborhood camera and not a license to police inner lives.

How this should shape us

Give the warning you were actually given, then let the hearer remain a moral agent. Do not turn this office into watching people, and do not carry every other adult's choice as if it were yours.

Teach it back

Explain Ezekiel 3:16–21 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible readings differ?

Best judgment: Watchman language does not authorize surveillance, coercive control, guaranteed outcomes, victim blaming, or claiming responsibility for everything another adult chooses.

How certain? strong

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Ezekiel 3:16–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 3:16–21

NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel

Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.

Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.

Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline: call and opening vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.

Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 1 study guide: exile, prophet-priest identity, and throne vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Exact location: Ezekiel 3:16–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 3:16–21

Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF

Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.

Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗

modern scholarly book course

Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies

Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline: call and opening vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗

open university study guide series

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub

Yale Bible Study, 2024

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 1 study guide: exile, prophet-priest identity, and throne vision; applied to Ezekiel 3:16–21

Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗