Ezekiel 33:10

Easy-to-Read Version

"So, son of man, speak to the family of Israel for me. They might say, ‘We have sinned and broken the law. Our sins are too heavy to bear. We rot away because of them. What can we do to live?'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘You have said this: “Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive?”’

Hebrew Names Version
You, son of man, tell the house of Yisra'el: Thus you speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

King James Version
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

English Standard Version
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?'

New American Standard Bible
"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Surely our offenses and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?"'

New Century Version
"So you, human, say to Israel: ‘You have said: Surely our law-breaking and sins are hurting us. They will kill us. What can we do so we will live?'

Amplified Bible
"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus you have said, "Truly our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting away because of them; how then can we live?"'

World English Bible
You, son of man, tell the house of Israel: Thus you speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore, O thou sonne of man, speake vnto the house of Israel, Thus yee speake and say, If our transgressions and our sinnes bee vpon vs, and we are consumed because of them, howe should we then liue?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus you have spoken, saying, "Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?"'

Legacy Standard Bible
"Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have spoken, saying, "Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we live?"'

Berean Standard Bible
Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: 'Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?'

Contemporary English Version
The Lord said: Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Therefore, you, human being, say to the house of Isra'el: ‘You say, "Our crimes and sins are weighing us down, we're pining away because of them, how can we even stay alive?"'

Darby Translation
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should we live?

George Lamsa Translation
You therefore, O Son of man, say to the house of Israel. Thus have you spoken, saying, Our iniquity and our sins be upon us, and we are pining away in them; how can we live?

Good News Translation
The Lord spoke to me. "Mortal man," he said, "repeat to the Israelites what they are saying: ‘We are burdened with our sins and the wrongs we have done. We are wasting away. How can we live?'

Lexham English Bible
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, saying, ‘So you said, saying, "Indeed, our transgressions and our sins are on us, and because of them we are rotting, and how can we live?"'

Literal Translation
And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, This you have spoken, saying, Surely our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting in them, even then shall we live?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Therfore (O thou sonne off man) speake vnto the house off Israel, Ye saye thus: Oure offences and synnes lye vpon vs, and we be corrupte in them: how shulde we then be restored vnto life?

American Standard Version
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

Bible in Basic English
And you, son of man, say to the children of Israel, You say, Our wrongdoing and our sins are on us and we are wasting away in them; how then may we have life?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Therefore, O thou son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

King James Version (1611)
Therefore, O thou sonne of man, speake vnto the house of Israel, Thus ye speake, saying, If our transgressions and our sinnes be vpon vs, & we pine away in them, how should we then liue?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore O thou sonne of man, speake vnto the house of Israel, yea say thus: If our offences and sinnes lye vpon vs, and we be consumed in them, howe should we then liue?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou, son of man, say to the house of Israel; Thus have ye spoken, saying, Our errors, and our iniquities weigh upon us, and we pine away in them, and how then shall we live?

English Revised Version
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then should we live?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfore thou, sone of man, seie to the hous of Israel, Thus ye spaken, seiynge, Oure wickidnessis and oure synnes ben on vs, and we failen in tho; hou therfor moun we lyue? seie thou to hem,

Update Bible Version
And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: Thus you speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

Webster's Bible Translation
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak to the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins [are] upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

New English Translation
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'

New King James Version
"Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: "Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"'

New Living Translation
"Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?'

New Life Bible
"Son of man, say to the people of Israel, ‘You have said, "Our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away in them. How then can we live?"'

New Revised Standard
Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: "Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou, therefore, Son of man, Say unto the house of Israel, Thus, have ye spoken saying: When our transgressions and our sins are upon us, - and for them, we are melting away How then can we live?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: Thus you have spoken, saying: Our iniquities, and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them: how then can we live?

Revised Standard Version
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?'

Young's Literal Translation
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Rightly ye have spoken, saying: Surely our transgressions and our sins [are] on us, And in them we are wasting away, How, then, do we live?

THE MESSAGE
"Son of man, speak to Israel. Tell them, ‘You've said, "Our rebellions and sins are weighing us down. We're wasting away. How can we go on living?"'

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ "So, son of man, speak to the family of Israel for me. They might say, ‘We have sinned and broken the law. Our sins are too heavy to bear. We rot away because of them. What can we do to live?' ¹¹ "You must say to them, ‘The Lord God says: By my life, I swear that I don't enjoy seeing people die—not even evil people! I don't want them to die. I want them to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so that they can really live. So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Why must you die, family of Israel?' ¹² "Son of man, tell your people: ‘The good things people did in the past will not save them if they become bad and begin to sin. In the same way the bad things people did in the past will not destroy them if they turn from their evil. So remember, the good things people did in the past will not save them if they begin to sin.' ¹³ "Maybe I will tell good people that they will live. But maybe those good people will begin to think that the good things they did in the past will save them. So they might begin to do bad things, but I will not remember the good things they did in the past! No, they will die because of the bad things they begin to do. ¹⁴ "Or maybe I will tell some evil people that they will die. But they might change their lives, stop sinning, and begin to live right. They might become good and fair. ¹⁵ They might give back the things they took when they loaned money. They might pay for the things they stole. They might begin to follow the laws that give life and stop doing bad things. Then they will surely live. They will not die. ¹⁶ I will not remember the bad things they did in the past, because now they live right and are fair. So they will live! ¹⁷ "But your people say, ‘That's not fair! The Lord cannot be like that!' "But they are the people who are not fair! They are the people who must change! ¹⁸ If good people stop doing good and begin to sin, they will die because of their sins. ¹⁹ And if evil people stop doing wrong and start living right and being fair, they will live.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

If our: The impenitent Jews seem to have charged the prophet's messages with inconsistency: for whilst he warned them to repent, and assured the penitent of forgiveness, he also predicted that the people "would pine away in their transgressions." The prediction, however, merely implied that God foresaw that the people in general would be impenitent, though some individuals would repent and be pardoned. Ezekiel 24:23, Leviticus 26:39

how: Ezekiel 37:11, Psalms 130:7, Isaiah 49:14, Isaiah 51:20, Jeremiah 2:25

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:16 - consume 1 Kings 21:29 - I will not 2 Kings 6:33 - this evil is of the Lord Ezra 9:15 - in our trespasses Lamentations 4:9 - for Ezekiel 3:18 - the same Ezekiel 18:20 - righteousness 1 Corinthians 15:17 - ye are

Cross-References

Genesis 19:19
You have been very kind to me, your servant. You have been very kind to save me, but I cannot run all the way to the mountains. What if I am too slow and something happens? I will be killed!

Genesis 32:30
So Jacob named that place Peniel. He said, "At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared."

Genesis 33:12
Then Esau said, "Now you can continue your journey. I will go with you."

Genesis 33:13
But Jacob said to him, "You know that my children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young animals. If I force them to walk too far in one day, all the animals will die.

Genesis 43:3
But Judah said to Jacob, "But the governor of that country warned us. He said, ‘If you don't bring your brother back to me, I will refuse to talk to you.'

Genesis 47:29
The time came when Israel knew he would soon die, so he called his son Joseph to him. He said, "If you love me, put your hand under my leg and make a promise. Promise that you will do what I say and that you will be truthful with me. When I die, don't bury me in Egypt.

Genesis 50:4
After the time of sadness was finished, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's officers and said, "Please tell this to Pharaoh:

Ruth 2:10
Then Ruth bowed very low to the ground. She said to Boaz, "I am a foreigner, so I am surprised you even noticed me."

1 Samuel 20:3
But David answered, "Your father knows very well that I am your friend. Your father said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.' But as surely as you and the Lord are alive, I am very close to death."

2 Samuel 3:13
David answered, "Good! I will make an agreement with you. But I ask you only one thing: I will not meet with you until you bring Saul's daughter Michal to me."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel,.... Such of them as were with him in the captivity: thus ye speak, saying; reasoning and arguing within and among themselves; which the Lord heard, and made known to the prophet, who is bid to repeat it to them in order to give an answer:

if our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them; as the prophet said they should, Ezekiel 24:23, with which he had concluded his prophecies to them; and now they take it up, and argue against themselves, and against him; if our sins and transgressions are laid upon us, and we must answer for them; if the guilt of them is charged on us, and they are unexpiated and unatoned for; and the punishment of them is, or will be, inflicted on us, and we do, and must pine away, and be consumed in them, and by them:

how should we then live? as thou promisest us upon repentance; it is all over with us; there is no hope for us; what signify our repentance, or thy promises of life unto us? these things can never hang together, that we should live, and yet pine away in our sins; so that these are the words of persons both despairing, and making the prophet to say things opposite and contradictory, and which would not admit of a reconciliation; see Ezekiel 37:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 33:10. If our transgressions and our sins be upon us — They are upon us, as a grievous burden, too weighty for us to bear: how then can we live under such a load?

We pine away in them — In such circumstances how consoling is that word: "Come unto me, all ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!"