12 ⁱThen the Spirit¹ lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice² of ^ja great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of ^kthe living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^la great earthquake. 14 ^mThe Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ⁿhand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 ^oAnd I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^oby the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.³ And ^pI sat there ^qoverwhelmed among them ^rseven days.

A Watchman for Israel

16 ^sAnd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 ^t“Son of man, ^uI have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^vgive them warning from me. 18 ^wIf I say to the wicked, ^x‘You shall surely die,’ ^vand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^yshall die for⁴ his iniquity, ^zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 19 ^aBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^bbut you ^cwill have delivered your soul. 20 ^dAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^eand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^vBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^dand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

22 ^fAnd the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^gthe valley,⁵ and ^hthere I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ⁱthe glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^jby the Chebar canal, ⁱand I fell on my face. 24 ^kBut the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, ^lcords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^myou shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ⁿfor they are a rebellious house. 27 ^oBut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^p‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^qHe who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

God’s Righteous Judgment

1 Therefore you have ^fno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^gin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on ^hthe riches of his kindness and ⁱforbearance and ^jpatience, ^knot knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^lstoring up ^mwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 ⁿHe will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who ^oby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking¹ and ^pdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress ^qfor every human being who does evil, the Jew ^rfirst and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and ^speace for everyone who does good, ^tthe Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For ^uGod shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned ^vwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For ^wit is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^xby nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is ^ywritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 ^zon that day when, ^aaccording to my gospel, God judges ^bthe secrets of men ^cby Christ Jesus.