Ezekiel 33

Matthew^{(i) 1} Agayne, the worde of the Lorde came vnto me, sayinge: ² Thou sonne of man, Speake to the children of thy people, & tell them: When I sende a swearde vpon a lande, yf the people of the lande take a man of their countre, & set him to be their watchman, ³ the same man (whan he seyth the sweard come vpon the lande) shal blowe the trompet, and warne the people. ⁴ If a man now heare the noyse of the trompet, and wil not be warned, and the swearde come and take him awaye: his bloude shall be vpon hys owne head: ⁵ for he hearde the sound of the trompet, and wolde not take hede: therfore hys bloude be vpon hym. But yf he wyll receyue warninge, he shall saue hys lyfe. ⁶ Agayne, yf the watch man se the swearde come and shewe it not wyth the trompet, so that the people is not warned: yf the sweard come then and take any man from amonge them, the same shall be taken awaye in hys owne sinne but hys bloude wyll I requyre of the watchemans hande. ⁷ And now (O thou sonne of man) I haue made the a watcheman vnto the house of Israell: that where as thou hearest anye thynge oute of my mouthe, thou mayest warne them on my behalfe. ⁸ If I say vnto the wicked thou wycked, thou shalte surelye dye: & thou geuest hym not warnynge, that he maye bewarre of his vngodly waye: then shall the wicked dye in hys owne synne, but hys bloude wyll I requyre of thy hand. ⁹ Neuertheles yf thou warne the wycked of hys waye, to turne from it, where as he yet will not be turned from it, then shall he dye because of hys synne, but thou haste delyuered thy soule. ¹⁰ Therfor (O thou sonne of man) speake vnto the house of Israel. Ye saye thus: Oure offences and synnes lye vpon vs, and we be corrupte in them: how shuld we then be restored vnto lyfe? ¹¹ Tell them: As trulye as I lyue, sayeth the Lorde God, I haue no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but moch rather that the wicked turne from his waye and lyue. Turne you, turne you from your vngodlye wayes, O ye of the house of Israell. Oh, wherfore wyll ye dye? ¹² Thou sonne of man, tell the chyldren of thy people: The ryghtuousnes of the rightuous shall not saue hym, when soeuer he turneth awaye vnfaithfully: Agayne, the wickednesse of the wicked shal not hurt him, when soeuer he conuerteth from hys vngodlynesse. And the ryghtuousnesse of the ryghtuous shall not saue hys lyfe, when soeuer he synneth. ¹³ If I saye vnto the ryghtuous, that he shall surelye lyue, and so he trust to his owne ryghtuousnesse, and do synne: then shall hys ryghtuousnesse be no more thought vpon, but in the wyckednesse that he hath done he shall dye. ¹⁴ Agayne, yf I saye vnto the wycked: thou shalt surely dye: and so he turne from hys synnes, and do the thinge that is lawfull and ryght: ¹⁵ In so moch that the same wicked man geueth the pledge agayne, restoreth that he had taken awaye by robbery, walcketh in the commaundementes of lyfe, & doth no wronge: Then shall he surely lyue, and not dye. ¹⁶ Yee the synnes that he hath done shall neuer be thought vpon: For in so moch as he doth now the thinge that is lawfull and ryght, he shall lyue. ¹⁷ And yet the children of thy people saye: Tushe, the waye of the Lorde is not ryght, where as their owne waye is rather vnright. ¹⁸ When the rightuous turneth from his rightuousnesse, & doeth the thinge that is wycked, he shal dye therfore. ¹⁹ But yf the wycked turne from hys wyckednesse, doing the thinge that is lawfull & ryght, he shall lyue therfore. ²⁰ Yet ye saye: the waye of the Lorde is not equall. O ye house of Israel, I wyll iudge euery one of you after his wayes. ²¹ In the .xij. yeare, the .v. daye of the .x. moneth of oure captyuyte, it happened, that one which was fled out of Ierusalem, came vnto me, and sayde: the cytye is destroyed. ²² Now the hande of the Lorde had bene vpon me the euenyng afore this man (which was escaped) came vnto me, & had opened my mouth, vntyll the mornynge that he came to me: yee he opened my mouth, so that I was nomore domme. ²³ Then came the worde of the Lorde vnto me, and sayde: ²⁴ Thou sonne of man, these that dwell in the wasted land of Israel, sayde: Abraham was but one man, & he had the lande in possessyon: now are we manye, & the lande is geuen vs to possesse also. ²⁵ And therfore tell them: Thus sayeth the Lorde: In the bloude haue ye eaten, youre eyes haue ye lyft vp to Idoles, & haue shed bloude: shal ye then haue the lande in possessyon? ²⁶ Ye leane vpon youre sweardes, ye worcke abomynacyon, euery one defyleth hys neghbours wyfe: & shall ye then possesse the lande? ²⁷ Saye thou these wordes vnto them: Thus sayeth the Lorde God: As truelye as I lyue all ye that dwell in thys wyldernesse, shalbe slayne with the sweard: what so euer is vpon the feld, will I geue vnto the beastes to be deuoured: those that be in stronge holdes & dennes shall dye of the pestylence. ²⁸ For I wyll make the lande so desolate and waste, and the pompe of her strength shall come to an ende. The mountaynes in Israell shalbe so waste, that no man shall trauayle therby. ²⁹ Then shall they learne to knowe, that I am the Lorde, when I make the lande waste and desolate, because of all theyr abomynacyons, that they haue wrought. ³⁰ And thou sonne of man, the chyldren of thy people that talcke of the, by th walles and in the dores of theyr houses, sayinge one to another: Come, let vs hear what worde is gone forthe from the Lorde: ³¹ These come vnto the, after the maner of a great people: yea my people syt doune before the, and heare thy wordes, but they do not there after: for in theyr mouthes they shewe them selues, as though they were feruent, but their herte goeth after theyr owne couetous lucre. ³² And as a balet that hath a swete tune, and is pleasaunt to synge, so shalte thou be vnto them: thy wordes shall they heare, but they wil not do thereafter. ³³ When thys commeth to passe (for lo, it commeth in dede) then shall they know, that there hath ben a Prophet among them.