Ezekiel 3:15-18

3:15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, ¹  who lived by the Kebar River. ²  I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days. ³ 

3:16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ⁴  3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ⁵  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 3:18 When I say to the wicked, “You will certainly die,” ⁶  and you do not warn him – you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live – that wicked person will die for his iniquity, ⁷  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁸ 

[3:15]  ¹ sn The name “Tel Abib” is a transliteration of an Akkadian term meaning “mound of the flood,” i.e., an ancient mound. It is not to be confused with the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.

[3:15]  ² tn Or “canal.”

[3:15]  ³ sn A similar response to a divine encounter is found in Acts 9:8-9.

[3:16]  ⁴ sn This phrase occurs about fifty times in the book of Ezekiel.

[3:17]  ⁷ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[3:18]  ¹⁰ sn Even though the infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the warning, the warning is still implicitly conditional, as the following context makes clear.

[3:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “in his punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here and v. 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[3:18]  ¹² tn Heb “his blood I will seek from your hand.” The expression “seek blood from the hand” is equivalent to requiring the death penalty (2 Sam 4:11-12).