33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say to
them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of
the land take a man of their territory, and set him for
their a watchman:
(a) He shows that the people ought to continually have
governors and teachers who may have a care over them,
and to warn them ever of the dangers which are at hand.
33:6 But if the watchman shall see the sword come, and blow not
the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword
shall come, and take [any] person from among them, he is
taken away in his b iniquity; but his blood will I
require at the watchman's hand.
(b) Signifying that the wicked will not escape punishment
though the watchman is negligent: but if the watchman
blows the trumpet, and then he will not obey, he will
deserve double punishment.
33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman to the
house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my
c mouth, and warn them from me.
(c) Which teaches that he that receives not his charge at
the Lord's mouth is a spy and not a true watchman.
33:8 When I say to the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely
die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his
way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his
blood will I d require at thy hand.
(d) The watchman must answer for the blood of all that
perish through his negligence.
33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak to the house of
Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and
our sins [are] upon us, and we pine away in them, e how
should we then live?
(e) Thus the wicked when they hear God's judgments for
their sins, despair of his mercies and murmur.
33:11 Say to them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, f I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked should turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?
(f) )See Geneva "Eze 18:23")
33:12 Therefore, thou son of man, say to the children of thy
people, The g righteousness of the righteous shall not
deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the
wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it in the
day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the
righteous be able to live for his [righteousness] in the
day that he sinneth.
33:14 Again, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if
he shall turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful
and h right;
(h) By this he condemns them all of hypocrisy, who pretend
to forsake wickedness and yet do not declare
themselves such by their fruits, that is, in obeying
God's commandments and by godly life.
33:21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our i
captivity, in the tenth [month], in the fifth [day] of the
month, [that] one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came
to me, saying, The city is smitten.
(i) When the prophet was led away captive with Jeconiah.
33:22 Now the k hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening,
before he that had escaped came; and had opened my mouth,
until he came to me in the morning; and my l mouth was
opened, and I was no more dumb.
(k) I was endued with the Spirit of prophecy,
(Eze 3:22).
(l) By which is signified that the ministers of God
cannot give them courage and open their mouths,
(Eze 24:27,29:21, Eph 6:19).
33:24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of
Israel speak, saying, m Abraham was one, and he
inherited the land: but we [are] many; the land is given
to us for inheritance.
(m) Thus the wicked think themselves more worthy to enjoy
God's promises than the saints of God, to whom they
were made: and would bind God to be subject to them,
though they would not be bound to him.
33:25 Wherefore say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat
with the n blood, and lift up your eyes toward your
idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
33:26 Ye stand upon your o sword, ye work abomination, and ye
defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye
possess the land?
(o) As they that are ready still to shed blood.
33:30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still
are p talking against thee by the walls and in the doors
of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his
brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the
word that cometh forth from the LORD.
(p) In derision.
33:31 And they come to thee as the people come, and they sit
before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but
they will not do them: for with their mouth they q show
much love, [but] their heart goeth after their
covetousness.
(q) This declares that we ought to hear God's word with
such zeal and affection that we should in all points
obey it, else we abuse the word to our own
condemnation and make of its ministers as though they
were jesters to serve men's foolish fantasies.
