“ Or suppose a godly person turns away from their godliness and does what is evil. And suppose I put something in their way that will trip them up. Then they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The godly things that person did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for their death.

再者，义人何时离义而犯罪，我将绊脚石放在他面前，他就必死；因你没有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素来所行的义不被记念；我却要向你讨他丧命的罪。

但是义人若转离他的义而作恶，我要把绊脚石放在他面前，他必死亡；因你没有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素来所行的义不被记念；我却要从你手里讨他的血债。

但是义人若转离他的义而作恶，我要把绊脚石放在他面前，他必死亡；因你没有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素来所行的义不被记念；我却要从你手里讨他的血债。

如果一个义人偏离正道、犯罪作恶，我会使他跌倒，他必死亡。如果你不告诫他，他必死在罪恶之中，他以前的义行也不会被记念，而我要追究你的责任。

如果义人偏离正义，行事邪恶，我必把绊脚石放在他面前，他必定死亡；因为你没有警告他，他必因自己的罪死亡。他素常所行的义，也必不被记念。但我要因他的死追究你。

再者，義人何時離義而犯罪，我將絆腳石放在他面前，他就必死；因你沒有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素來所行的義不被記念；我卻要向你討他喪命的罪。

但是義人若轉離他的義而作惡，我要把絆腳石放在他面前，他必死亡；因你沒有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素來所行的義不被記念；我卻要從你手裏討他的血債。

但是義人若轉離他的義而作惡，我要把絆腳石放在他面前，他必死亡；因你沒有警戒他，他必死在罪中，他素來所行的義不被記念；我卻要從你手裏討他的血債。

如果一個義人偏離正道、犯罪作惡，我會使他跌倒，他必死亡。如果你不告誡他，他必死在罪惡之中，他以前的義行也不會被記念，而我要追究你的責任。

如果義人偏離正義，行事邪惡，我必把絆腳石放在他面前，他必定死亡；因為你沒有警告他，他必因自己的罪死亡。他素常所行的義，也必不被記念。但我要因他的死追究你。

義人呢，義人若轉離他的義而行不公道的事，當我將絆腳物放在他面前時，他就必死；因你沒有警告他，他就死在他的罪中，他素來所行的義遂不被記念，但流他血的罪、我卻要從你手裏追討。

如義人背義行惡、我置窒礙於其前、彼必死亡、爾不警之、彼死於罪、所行之義、不復見憶、我必索其血於爾手、

如義人棄善作惡、我任其陷罪、至於死亡、彼所為之善不復繫念、死於罪戾、爾既不示之、我亦必罰爾。

如善人離善行惡、我聽其陷罪、以致死亡、爾不戒之、必死於罪中、彼所為之善、不得記憶、而其喪命之罪、必責問於爾、

“ Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.

Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

“ If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.

Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

Again, when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand.

“ Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.

Again, When a righteous[ man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

“ When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

“ Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but I will require his blood at your hand.

“ Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. They do the same evil things a sinful person does. They do things I hate. Then they will not live. I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They have not been faithful to me. They have also committed many other sins. So they are guilty. They will die.

Suppose I say to a sinful person,‘ You can be sure you will die.’ And you do not warn them. You do not try to get them to change their evil ways in order to save their life. Then that sinful person will die because they have sinned. And I will hold you responsible for their death.

“ Son of man, speak to your people. Tell them,‘ Suppose a godly person does not obey the Lord. Then the right things that person has done in the past count for nothing. Suppose a sinful person turns away from doing wrong things. Then the wrong things that person has done in the past won’t bring them judgment. A godly person who sins won’t be allowed to live. That’s true even though they used to do right things.’Suppose I tell a godly person that they will live. And they trust in the fact that they used to do what is right. But now they do what is evil. Then I will not remember any of the right things they have done. They will die because they have done so many evil things.

And,“ The one who is right with God will live by faith. And I am not pleased with the one who pulls back.”( Habakkuk 2:3, 4)

But the Lord will drive out those who have taken crooked paths. He will drive them out with those who do evil things. May Israel enjoy peace.

Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they sin. Then they will die because of it. They will die because of the sin they have committed.

“‘ “Suppose any of the Israelites or any outsiders who live in Israel separate themselves from me. And they think about other gods. They fall into the evil trap of worshiping them. Then they go to a prophet to ask me for advice. If they do, I myself will tell the prophet to answer them.I will turn against them. I will make an example out of them. People will talk about the bad things that happen to them. I will remove them from you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“‘ “Suppose that prophet is stirred up to give a prophecy. Then I am the one who has stirred him up. And I will reach out my powerful hand against him. I will destroy him from among my people Israel.

God will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good. They want glory, honor, and life that never ends.But there are others who only look out for themselves. They don’t accept the truth. They go astray. God will pour out his great anger on them.

They speak empty, bragging words. They make their appeal to the evil desires that come from sin’s power. They tempt new believers who are just escaping from the company of sinful people.They promise to give freedom to these new believers. But they themselves are slaves to sinful living. That’s because“ people are slaves to anything that controls them.”They may have escaped the sin of the world. They may have come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what if they are once again caught up in sin? And what if it has become their master? Then they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.Suppose they had not known the way of godliness. This would have been better than to know godliness and then turn away from it. The way of godliness is the sacred command passed on to them.What the proverbs say about them is true.“ A dog returns to where it has thrown up.”( Proverbs 26:11) And,“ A pig that is washed goes back to rolling in the mud.”

So the Lord says,“ I will bring an army against the people of Judah. Parents and children alike will trip and fall. Neighbors and friends will die.”

And,“ It is a stone that causes people to trip. It is a rock that makes them fall.”( Isaiah 8:14) They trip and fall because they do not obey the message. That is also what God planned for them.

Then the Lord will be a holy place of safety for you. But that’s not true for many people in Israel and Judah. He will be a stone that causes them to trip. He will be a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah came to King Joash. They bowed down to him. He listened to them.They turned their backs on the temple of the Lord, the God of their people. They worshiped poles made to honor the female god named Asherah. They also worshiped statues of other gods. Because Judah and Jerusalem were guilty of sin, God became angry with them.The Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him. The prophets told the people what they were doing wrong. But the people wouldn’t listen.Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the priest. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah stood in front of the people. He told them,“ God says,‘ Why do you refuse to obey my commands? You will not have success. You have deserted me. So I have deserted you.’ ”But the people made evil plans against Zechariah. The king ordered them to kill Zechariah by throwing stones at him. They did it in the courtyard of the Lord’ s temple.King Joash didn’t remember how kind Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had been to him. So he killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying he said,“ May the Lord see this. May he hold you responsible.”

I will destroy those who stop following the Lord. They no longer look to him or ask him for advice.

“ Son of man, these men have thought about nothing but other gods. They have fallen into the evil trap of worshiping them. Should I let these men ask me for any advice?

Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they do what is evil. Then they will die because of it.

But suppose the guard sees the enemies coming. And he does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. The enemies come and kill one of them. Then their life has been taken away from them because they sinned. But I will hold the guard responsible for their death.’

Then Nathan said to David,“ You are the man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says,‘ I anointed you king over Israel. I saved you from Saul.I gave you everything that belonged to your master Saul. I even put his wives into your arms. I made you king over all the people of Israel and Judah. And if all of that had not been enough for you, I would have given you even more.Why did you turn your back on what I told you to do? You did what is evil in my sight. You made sure that Uriah, the Hittite, would be killed in battle. You took his wife to be your own. You let the men of Ammon kill him with their swords.So time after time members of your own royal house will be killed with swords. That’s because you turned your back on me. You took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be your own.’“ The Lord also says,‘ I am going to bring trouble on you. It will come from your own family. I will take your wives away. Your own eyes will see it. I will give your wives to a man who is close to you. He will sleep with them in the middle of the day.You committed your sins in secret. But I will make sure that the man commits his sin in the middle of the day. Everyone in Israel will see it.’ ”Then David said to Nathan,“ I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied,“ The Lord has taken away your sin. You aren’t going to die.

Those who love your law enjoy great peace. Nothing can make them trip and fall.

The Lord was very angry with Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him. The prophet said,“ Why do you ask the gods of those people for advice? They couldn’t even save their own people from your power!”

David says,“ Let their feast be a trap and a snare. Let them trip and fall. Let them get what’s coming to them.

So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The Lord your God is testing you. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with an honest and good heart. Those people hear the message. They keep it in their hearts. They remain faithful and produce a good crop.

Our God, please listen to us. The city that belongs to you has been destroyed. Open your eyes and see it. We aren’t asking you to answer our prayers because we are godly. Instead, we’re asking you to do it because you love us so much.

“‘ They will throw their silver into the streets. They will treat their gold like an“ unclean” thing. Their silver and gold won’t be able to save them on the day I pour out my anger. It will not be able to satisfy their hunger. Their stomachs can’t be filled with it. Their silver and gold have tripped them up. It has made them fall into sin.

Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.

“ What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it.Then it says,‘ I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order.Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”

But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish.

“‘ Do not hate another Israelite in your heart. Correct your neighbor boldly when they do something wrong. Then you will not share their guilt.

The coming of the man of sin will fit how Satan works. The man of sin will show his power through all kinds of signs and wonders. These signs and wonders will lead people astray.So people who are dying will be fooled by this evil. These people are dying because they refuse to love the truth. The truth would save them.So God will fool them completely. Then they will believe the lie.Many will not believe the truth. They will take pleasure in evil. They will be judged.

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Joash lived that way as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive.

Their mouths speak words that are evil and false. They do not act wisely or do what is good.

A wise judge’s warning to a listening ear is like a gold earring or jewelry made of fine gold.

Jehu the prophet went out to meet him. He was the son of Hanani. Jehu said to the king,“ You shouldn’t help evil people. You shouldn’t love those who hate the Lord. The Lord is angry with you.But there’s some good in you. You have removed all the poles in the land used to worship the female god named Asherah. And you have worshiped God with all your heart.”Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again among the people. He went from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim. He turned the people back to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Why not? Because they tried to do it without faith. They tried to be right with God by what they did. They tripped over the stone that causes people to trip and fall.It is written,“ Look! In Zion I am laying a stone that causes people to trip. It is a rock that makes them fall. The one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”( Isaiah 8:14; 28:16)

All of us have become like someone who is“ unclean.” All the good things we do are like dirty rags to you. All of us are like leaves that have dried up. Our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Then Simeon blessed them. He said to Mary, Jesus’ mother,“ This child is going to cause many people in Israel to fall and to rise. God has sent him. But many will speak against him.

“ If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them back.

The seed that fell on rocky places is like other people. They hear the message and at once receive it with joy.But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message.