Ezekiel 33:6

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, ¹  but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person’s death.’ ² 

Ezekiel 33:9-10

33:9 But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, ³  and he refuses to change, ⁴  he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, ⁵  and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’

Proverbs 14:32

14:32 The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, ⁶ 

but the righteous have refuge ⁷  even in the threat of death. ⁸ 

John 8:21

Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going

8:21 Then Jesus ⁹  said to them again, ¹⁰  “I am going away, and you will look for me ¹¹  but will die in your sin. ¹²  Where I am going you cannot come.”

John 8:24

8:24 Thus I told you ¹³  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ¹⁴  you will die in your sins.”

[33:6]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.”

[33:9]  ³ tn Heb “from his way to turn from it.”

[33:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he does not turn from his way.”

[33:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “(are) upon us.”

[14:32]  ⁶ tn The prepositional phrase must be “in his time of trouble” (i.e., when catastrophe comes). Cf. CEV “In times of trouble the wicked are destroyed.” A wicked person has nothing to fall back on in such times.

[14:32]  ⁷ sn The righteous have hope in a just retribution – they have a place of safety even in death.

[14:32]  ⁸ tc The LXX reads this as “in his integrity,” as if it were בְּתוּמּוֹ (bÿtumo) instead of “in his death” (בְּמוֹתוֹ, bÿmoto). The LXX is followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB “in his honesty,” NRSV “in their integrity,” and TEV “by their integrity”).

[8:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.

[8:21]  ¹¹ tn Grk “you will seek me.”

[8:21]  ¹² tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.

[8:24]  ¹³ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).