When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Ver. 18. When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die.] When I bid thee tell the wicked from me, it shall be ill with him; for "the reward of his hands shall be given," Isa 3:11 even "death the wages of sin," Rom 6:23 death of all sorts, which is the just hire of the least sin: woe then to the wicked, say.
And thou givest him not warning.] Heb., Non expolieris; Gr., Non distinxeris; if thou do not distinctly and clearly warn him, seeking to rub off his rust, and to make his soul clear and circumspect. as Psa 19:12 Ecc 4:13
To save his life.] That "iniquity may not be his ruin." Sin hales hell at the heels of it.
But his blood will I require at thine hand.] These are fulmina, non verba, not words, but thunderbolts, saith Erasmus. This sentence sounding much in his ears made Augustine constant and instant in preaching, and warning the people of their danger. Bernard a also, for the same reason, thus bespeaketh his hearers: If I deal not freely and faithfully with you, it will be to your loss, and mine own danger. Timeo itaque damnum vestrum: timeo damnationem meam, si tacuero.
a Lib. iii. De Verb. Dom., Serm. 12.