watchman

¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you shall say to them: Concerning the land, when I will have led the sword over it: if the people of the land take a man, one of their least, and appoint him over themselves as a watchman, ³and if he sees the sword approaching over the land, and he sounds the trumpet, and he announces to the people, ⁴then, having heard the sound of the trumpet, whoever he is, if he also does not take care of himself, and the sword arrives and takes him: his blood will be upon his own head. ⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet, and he did not take care of himself, so his blood will be upon him. But if he guards himself, he will save his own life. ⁶And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman.

⁶Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have stationed watchmen all day and all night unceasingly; they will not be silent. You who are mindful of the Lord, you should not be silent,

¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. And so, you shall listen to the word from my mouth, and you shall announce it to them from me.

⁶And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman.

⁸It is the voice of your watchmen. They have lifted up their voice. They will praise together. For they will see eye to eye, when the Lord converts Zion.

¹I will stand firm during my watch, and fix my position over the fortification. And I will observe carefully, to see what might be said to me and what I might respond to my opponent. ²And the Lord responded to me and said: Write the vision and explain it on tablets, so that he who reads it may run through it. ³For as yet the vision is far off, and it will appear in the end, and it will not lie. If it expresses any delay, wait for it. For it is arriving and it will arrive, and it will not be hindered. ⁴Behold, he who is unbelieving, his soul will not be right within himself; but he who is just shall live in his faith. ⁵And in the manner that wine deceives the heavy drinker, so will the arrogant man be deceived, and he will not be honored. He has enlarged his life like hellfire, and himself like death, and he is never fulfilled. And he will gather to himself all nations, and he will amass for himself all peoples. ⁶Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and an enigmatic utterance about him? And it will be said, “Woe to him who increases what is not his own.” How long, then, will he lay down dense clay against himself?

⁹And we prayed to our God, and we stationed guards upon the wall, day and night, against them.

¹²Upon the walls of Babylon, lift up a sign. Increase the watch! Rouse the watchmen! Prepare ambushes! For the Lord has planned and has accomplished all that he has spoken, against the inhabitants of Babylon.

³and if he sees the sword approaching over the land, and he sounds the trumpet, and he announces to the people, ⁴then, having heard the sound of the trumpet, whoever he is, if he also does not take care of himself, and the sword arrives and takes him: his blood will be upon his own head. ⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet, and he did not take care of himself, so his blood will be upon him. But if he guards himself, he will save his own life. ⁶And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman.

⁶For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’ ”

¹⁷Obey your leaders and be subject to them. For they watch over you, as if to render an account of your souls. So then, may they do this with joy, and not with grief. Otherwise, it would not be as helpful to you.

⁵Prepare the table. Contemplate, from a place of observation, those who eat and drink. Rise up, you leaders! Take up the shield! ⁶For the Lord has said this to me: “Go and station a watchman. And let him announce whatever he will see.” ⁷And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, and a rider on a donkey, and a rider on a camel. And he considered them diligently, with an intense gaze. ⁸And a lion cried out: “I am on the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day. And I am at my station, standing throughout the night. ⁹Behold, a certain man approaches, a man riding on a two-horse chariot.” And he responded, and he said: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! And all its graven gods have been crushed into the earth! ¹⁰O my threshed grain! O sons of my threshing floor! What I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have announced to you.”

¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you shall say to them: Concerning the land, when I will have led the sword over it: if the people of the land take a man, one of their least, and appoint him over themselves as a watchman, ³and if he sees the sword approaching over the land, and he sounds the trumpet, and he announces to the people, ⁴then, having heard the sound of the trumpet, whoever he is, if he also does not take care of himself, and the sword arrives and takes him: his blood will be upon his own head. ⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet, and he did not take care of himself, so his blood will be upon him. But if he guards himself, he will save his own life. ⁶And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman.

¹¹The burden of Dumah, cried out to me from Seir: “Watchman, how goes the night? Watchman, how goes the night?” ¹²The watchman said: “Morning approaches with the night. If you are seeking: seek, and convert, and approach.”

³⁴Blessed is the man who listens to me, and who stands watch at my gates every day, and who observes at the posts of my doors.