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Ezekiel 33:4

in Ezekiel 33

Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

KJV

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

This verse in Ezekiel 33

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The substance of this we had before, ch. iii. He must let them know upon what terms they stand with God, that they are upon their trial, upon their good behaviour, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish, but that if a righteous man apostatize he shall perish,

This site's exposition

the word of the LORD came to me

on Ezekiel 33:1-6

If the watchman blows the horn, the hearer who ignores it answers for himself, since “his blood will be on his own head”. If the watchman keeps silent, the Lord says, “I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood”. Gill notes the balance of the wording.

This site's exposition

his blood will be on his own

Blood on a man's own head is a legal formula for bearing the blame for his own death. Rahab's family hears it at Joshua 2:19, and Leviticus 20:9 uses it of capital crimes. The watchman who blew the horn is clear.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Chapter XXXIII, Verse 1 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them: When I bring a sword upon a land and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh no warning,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

blood . . . upon his own head--metaphor from sacrificial victims, on the heads of which they used to lay their hands, praying that their guilt should be upon the victims.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְשָׁמַ֨עand he will hear

    veshama'H8085 →1159 times

  • הַשֹּׁמֵ֜עַthe [one who] hears

    hashomea'H8085 →1159 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • ק֤וֹל[the] sound of

    kolH6963 →506 times

  • הַשּׁוֹפָר֙the trumpet

    hashofarH7782 →72 times

  • וְלֹ֣אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • נִזְהָ֔רhe took warning

    nizharH2094 →22 times

  • וַתָּ֥בוֹאand it came

    vatavo'H935 →2568 times

  • חֶ֖רֶב[the] sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • וַתִּקָּחֵ֑הוּand it took him

    vatikachehuH3947 →966 times

  • דָּמ֥וֹblood his

    damoH1818 →360 times

  • בְרֹאשׁ֖וֹon head his

    veroshoH7218 →599 times

  • יִֽהְיֶֽה׃it will be

    yihyehH1961 →3559 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 18:6

    But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 1:16

      For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”

    • Ezekiel 33:8–9

      If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity,…

    • Ezekiel 18:13

      He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

    • Acts 13:51

      So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

    • Nehemiah 5:13

      I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 6:17

    I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 25:4

      And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.

    • Isaiah 58:1

      “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 33:9

    But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 3:19

      But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

About Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.