Thou givest him not warning, etc. The word, as in the parallels already referral to, is characteristic of Ezekiel, almost indeed, peculiar to him. Psalms 19:11 may be noted as another instance of its use.
When the watchman saw danger coming, he was to blow the trumpet (Ezekiel 33:3-6). The prophet was to speak his warnings. Thou shalt surely die; literally, dying thou shalt die. Were the words of Genesis 2:17 in the prophet's mind?
To save his life; literally, for his life, or that he may live. Shall die in his iniquity. Do the words refer only to physical death coming as the punishment of iniquity? or do they point onward further to the judgment that follows death, the loss of the inheritance of eternal life which belongs to those whose names are written in the book of life?
Looking to the tremendous responsibility implied in the words, we can hardly, I think, in spite of the questions which have been raised as to the belief of the Hebrews in the immortality of the soul, hesitate to accept the latter meaning.
Ezekiel anticipates the teaching of Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 13:8, if, indeed, that meaning was not already familiar to him in Exodus 32:32, Exodus 32:33. For "in" his iniquity we may, perhaps, read "because of."
The negligence of the watchman does not avail to procure a full pardon for the evil doer. The degree in which it may extenuate his guilt depends on conditions known to God, but not to us. In any case, as in our Lord's words (Luke 12:47, Luke 12:48), a man's knowledge and opportunities are the measure of his responsibility.
But the unfaithful watchman has his responsibility. It is as though the blood of the sinner had been shed. His guilt may be described in the same words as that of Cain (Genesis 9:5). Compare St. Paul's words in Acts 18:6 and Acts 20:26 as echoes of Ezekiel's thought.