Ezekiel 3:19 (DBY)

Passage

But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Nearby Context

Ezekiel 3:17 Son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Ezekiel 3:19 But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Ezekiel 3:20 And when a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and do what is wrong, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous acts which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Ezekiel 3:21 And if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall certainly live, for he hath taken warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "warn", "wicked", "turn", "wickedness", "shall", and "iniquity". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "warn", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "When I say unto the wicked Thou..." into verse 20's "And when a righteous man doth turn...", so "thou" and "warn" belong inside that flow. In Ezekiel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thou" and "warn" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.