Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, speak to ^(B)your people and say to them, If ^(C)I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their ^(D)watchman, ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and ^(E)blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, ^(F)his blood shall be upon his own head. ^5 (G)He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ^6 (H)But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, ^(I)that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

^7 (J)“So you, ^(K)son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. ^(L)Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ^8 (M)If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, ^(N)and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, ^(O)that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ^9 (P)But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, ^(Q)that person shall die in his iniquity, ^(R)but you will have delivered your soul.

Why Will You Die, Israel?

¹⁰ “And you, ^(S)son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and ^(T)we rot away because of them. ^(U)How then can we live?’ ¹¹ Say to them, ^(V)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(W)I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; ^(X)turn back, turn back from your evil ways, ^(Y)for why will you die, O house of Israel?

^12 (Z)“And you, son of man, say to ^(AA)your people, ^(AB)The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, ^(AC)and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, ^(AD)and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness^[a] when he sins. ¹³ Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet ^(AE)if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. ¹⁴ Again, ^(AF)though I say to the wicked, ^(AG)‘You shall surely die,’ yet ^(AH)if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, ¹⁵ if the wicked ^(AI)restores the pledge, ^(AJ)gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks ^(AK)in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ^16 (AL)None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet ^(AM)your people say, ^(AN)‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just. ^18 (AO)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. ¹⁹ And ^(AP)when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, ^(AQ)I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Jerusalem Struck Down

²¹ In the ^(AR)twelfth year ^(AS)of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(AT)a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(AU)“The city has been struck down.” ^22 (AV)Now ^(AW)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

²³ The word of the Lord came to me: ^24 (AX)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ^(AY)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ^(AZ)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but ^(BA)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BB)You eat flesh with the blood and ^(BC)lift up your eyes to your idols and ^(BD)shed blood; shall you then possess the land? ^26 (BE)You rely on the sword, ^(BF)you commit abominations, and ^(BG)each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? ²⁷ Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BH)As I live, surely those who are in ^(BI)the waste places shall fall by ^(BJ)the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to ^(BK)the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in ^(BL)strongholds and in caves shall die by ^(BM)pestilence. ^28 (BN)And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and ^(BO)her proud might shall come to an end, and ^(BP)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. ^29 (BQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.

³⁰ “As for you, ^(BR)son of man, ^(BS)your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ^31 (BT)And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for ^(BU)with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. ³² And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and ^(BV)plays^[b] well on an instrument, for ^(BW)they hear what you say, but they will not do it. ^33 (BX)When this comes—and come it will!—^(BY)then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the ^(A)servant of the Lord.

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, ^(A)he went out with his disciples across ^(B)the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ² Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew ^(C)the place, for ^(D)Jesus often met there with his disciples. ^3 (E)So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ Then Jesus, ^(F)knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, ^(G)“Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”^[a] Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ^6 (H)When Jesus^[b] said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ So he asked them again, ^(I)“Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” ^9 (J)This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” ¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, ^(K)having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant^[c] and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; ^(L)shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas

¹² So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews^[d] arrested Jesus and bound him. ¹³ First they ^(M)led him to ^(N)Annas, for he was the father-in-law of ^(O)Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews ^(P)that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus

^15 (Q)Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ^16 (R)but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. ^17 (S)The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the servants^[e] and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. ^(T)Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

^19 (U)The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. ²⁰ Jesus answered him, “I have spoken ^(V)openly ^(W)to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. ^(X)I have said nothing in secret. ²¹ Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” ²² When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, ^(Y)“Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³ Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” ^24 (Z)Annas then sent him bound to ^(AA)Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Jesus Again

^25 (AB)Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of ^(AC)the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you ^(AD)in the garden with him?” ²⁷ Peter again denied it, and ^(AE)at once a rooster crowed.

Jesus Before Pilate

^28 (AF)Then they led Jesus ^(AG)from the house of Caiaphas to ^(AH)the governor's headquarters.^[f] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, ^(AI)so that they would not be defiled, ^(AJ)but could eat the Passover. ^29 (AK)So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” ³¹ Pilate said to them, ^(AL)“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” ^32 (AM)This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken ^(AN)to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

My Kingdom Is Not of This World

^33 (AO)So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, ^(AP)“Are you the King of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, ^(AQ)“My kingdom ^(AR)is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, ^(AS)my servants would have been fighting, that ^(AT)I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, ^(AU)“You say that I am a king. ^(AV)For this purpose I was born and for this purpose ^(AW)I have come into the world—^(AX)to bear witness to the truth. ^(AY)Everyone who is ^(AZ)of the truth ^(BA)listens to my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, ^(BB)he went back outside to the Jews and told them, ^(BC)“I find no guilt in him. ^39 (BD)But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ They cried out again, ^(BE)“Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.^[g]

Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and ^(BF)flogged him. ^2 (BG)And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. ⁴ Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that ^(BH)I find no guilt in him.” ⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing ^(BI)the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ^(BJ)“Behold the man!” ⁶ When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, ^(BK)“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for ^(BL)I find no guilt in him.” ⁷ The Jews^[h] answered him, “We have a law, and ^(BM)according to that law he ought to die because ^(BN)he has made himself the Son of God.” ⁸ When Pilate heard this statement, ^(BO)he was even more afraid. ^9 (BP)He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, ^(BQ)“Where are you from?” But ^(BR)Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, ^(BS)“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(BT)he who delivered me over to you ^(BU)has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on ^(BV)Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. ^(BW)Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³ So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on ^(BX)the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic^[i] Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was ^(BY)the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.^[j] He said to the Jews, ^(BZ)“Behold your King!” ¹⁵ They cried out, ^(CA)“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” ^16 (CB)So he ^(CC)delivered him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus, ¹⁷ and ^(CD)he went out, ^(CE)bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ^18 (CF)There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ¹⁹ Pilate ^(CG)also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for ^(CH)the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹ So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²² Pilate answered, ^(CI)“What I have written I have written.”

^23 (CJ)When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.^[k] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴ so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” ^(CK)This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

So the soldiers did these things, ^25 (CM)but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and ^(CN)the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ^(CO)“Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to ^(CP)his own home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now ^(CQ)finished, said (^(CR)to fulfill the Scripture), ^(CS)“I thirst.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine stood there, ^(CT)so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. ³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ^(CU)“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and ^(CV)gave up his spirit.

Jesus' Side Is Pierced

³¹ Since it was ^(CW)the day of Preparation, and ^(CX)so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was ^(CY)a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other ^(CZ)who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out ^(DA)blood and water. ^35 (DB)He who saw it has borne witness—^(DC)his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—^(DD)that you also may believe. ^36 (DE)For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ^(DF)“Not one of his bones ^(DG)will be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, ^(DH)“They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

^38 (DI)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly ^(DJ)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ^39 (DK)Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus^[l] by night, came ^(DL)bringing a mixture of ^(DM)myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds^[m] in weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(DN)bound it in ^(DO)linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a ^(DP)garden, and ^(DQ)in the garden a new tomb ^(DR)in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So because of the Jewish ^(DS)day of Preparation, ^(DT)since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.