Ezekiel 3:17
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Study Note
Study Note
God's commission of Ezekiel as 'a watchman unto the house of Israel' — responsible to hear the divine word and warn the wicked, with consequences for failing to warn — establishes one of the Old Testament's most rigorous accounts of prophetic accountability and the ethics of speech. The watchman metaphor draws on the ancient Near Eastern practice of posting sentinels on city walls to give advance warning of approaching enemies — Ezekiel's vocation is the spiritual equivalent of this civic-military function. The threefold warning-structure (warn the wicked, 3:18-19; the righteous, 3:20-21; the city, 33:1-9) represents the most systematic Old Testament theology of pastoral responsibility and its consequences for the watchman. Hebrews 13:17 ('they watch for your souls, as they that must give account') and Paul's Acts 20:26-27 (innocent of all blood, having declared the whole counsel) deploy the same watchman-accountability framework for New Testament ministerial ethics.
Other Translations
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
that there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast warned them from Me.
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger.
Cross References
And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, …
The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls …
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set …
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the …
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to …
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving …
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house …