“‘If I say
To the wicked ones,
‘You shall surely die.’
Then they shall die.
If you give them
No warning,
If you did not speak
To warn
The wicked ones
From their wicked way,
In order
To save their lives,
Those wicked people
Shall die
For their iniquity.
But I will require
Their blood
At your hand.
However,
If you did warn
The wicked ones,
But they did not turn
From their wickedness,
Or from
Their wicked ways,
They shall die
For their iniquity.
But you will have saved
Your life.’”
Yahweh told Ezekiel what would happen to him and the wicked people. If Yahweh said that a wicked person would die, they would die. However, if Ezekiel had not warned them to avoid their wicked ways to make them safe, then not only would the wicked ones die, because they deserved to die due to their iniquity, then Ezekiel would also have their blood on his hands. On the other hand, if Ezekiel warned the wicked ones, but they did not turn from their wickedness, they would die, but Ezekiel would save his life.