Ezekiel 3:17-21

3:17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman ¹  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,” ²  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, ³  but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁴  3:19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. ⁵ 

3:20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle ⁶  before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 3:21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he ⁷  does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”

Ezekiel 33:2-9

33:2 “Son of man, speak to your people, ⁸  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman. 33:3 He sees the sword coming against the land, blows the trumpet, ⁹  and warns the people, ¹⁰  33:4 but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death. ¹¹  33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. ¹²  If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. 33:6 But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, ¹³  but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ ¹⁴ 

33:7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman ¹⁵  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf. 33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ ¹⁶  and you do not warn ¹⁷  the wicked about his behavior, ¹⁸  the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. ¹⁹  33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, ²⁰  and he refuses to change, ²¹  he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

Matthew 24:45-47

The Faithful and Wise Slave

24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, ²²  whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves ²³  their food at the proper time? 24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work ²⁴  when he comes. 24:47 I tell you the truth, ²⁵  the master ²⁶  will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Luke 12:36-40

12:36 be like people ²⁷  waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, ²⁸  so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 12:37 Blessed are those slaves ²⁹  whom their master finds alert ³⁰  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ³¹  he will dress himself to serve, ³²  have them take their place at the table, ³³  and will come ³⁴  and wait on them! ³⁵  12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night ³⁶  and finds them alert, ³⁷  blessed are those slaves! ³⁸  12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief ³⁹  was coming, he would not have let ⁴⁰  his house be broken into. 12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” ⁴¹ 

Acts 20:29-31

20:29 I know that after I am gone ⁴²  fierce wolves ⁴³  will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group ⁴⁴  men ⁴⁵  will arise, teaching perversions of the truth ⁴⁶  to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, ⁴⁷  remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ⁴⁸  each one of you with tears.

[3:17]  ¹ tn The literal role of a watchman is described in 2 Sam 18:24; 2 Kgs 9:17.

[3:18]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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).

[3:19]  ⁵ tn Verses 17-19 are repeated in Ezek 33:7-9.

[3:20]  ⁶ tn Or “stumbling block.” The Hebrew term refers to an obstacle in the road in Lev 19:14.

[3:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the righteous man.”

[33:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

[33:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “shofar,” a ram’s horn rather than a brass instrument (so throughout the chapter).

[33:3]  ¹⁰ tn Sounding the trumpet was a warning of imminent danger (Neh 4:18-20; Jer 4:19; Amos 3:6).

[33:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his blood will be on his own head.”

[33:5]  ¹² tn Heb “his blood will be on him.”

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

[33:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”

[33:7]  ¹⁵ sn Jeremiah (Jer 6:17) and Habakkuk (Hab 2:1) also served in the role of a watchman.

[33:8]  ¹⁶ tn The same expression occurs in Gen 2:17.

[33:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and you do not speak to warn.”

[33:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “way.”

[33:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and his blood from your hand I will seek.”

[33:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”

[33:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”

[24:45]  ²² tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[24:45]  ²³ tn Grk “give them.”

[24:46]  ²⁴ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[24:47]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:47]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:36]  ²⁷ tn That is, like slaves (who are mentioned later, vv. 37-38), although the term ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used here. Since in this context it appears generic rather than gender-specific, the translation “people” is employed.

[12:36]  ²⁸ sn An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).

[12:37]  ²⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[12:37]  ³⁰ tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

[12:37]  ³¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:37]  ³² tn See v. 35 (same verb).

[12:37]  ³³ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[12:37]  ³⁴ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:37]  ³⁵ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

[12:38]  ³⁶ sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.

[12:38]  ³⁷ tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.

[12:38]  ³⁸ tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:39]  ³⁹ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[12:39]  ⁴⁰ tc Most mss (א¹ A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^p,h sa^ms bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two important and early mss along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ א* [D] e i sy^s,c sa^mss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.

[12:40]  ⁴¹ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time – so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[20:29]  ⁴² tn Grk “after my departure.”

[20:29]  ⁴³ tn That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.

[20:30]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “from among yourselves.”

[20:30]  ⁴⁵ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.

[20:30]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “speaking crooked things”; BDAG 237 s.v. διαστρέφω 2 has “λαλεῖν διεστραμμένα teach perversions (of the truth) Ac 20:30.”

[20:31]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “be watchful.”

[20:31]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “admonishing.”