Even if a just individual turns away from his righteousness and engages in wrongdoing, I will place a stumbling block in his path. He will face death because you failed to warn him; he will perish in his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. However, if you urge the righteous to refrain from sinning, and he heeds your warning and does not sin, he will live because you have delivered this message to him, thus saving your own soul. We can note the example of two unrighteous men: one who ignored the warning and met his end, and another who, having heard the message, chose to remain in transgression. Similarly, there are two just individuals: one who did not hear and consequently perished, and another who listened, repented, and saved his soul.
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It is important to recognize that even the righteous may falter but can be restored if they are guided by a teacher. Good deeds also require continual direction to ensure they do not deviate from the true path. On the other hand, the wicked, if they do not return from their wrongdoings, will die in their iniquity. A righteous person who commits wrongdoing does not immediately face death, but rather experiences stumbling blocks or torments that remind him of his weaknesses, as Theodotion noted, so he is troubled and unable to find a clear pathway, realizing his limitations. The Apostle likewise stated, "For this reason many in you are weak and sleep until the end" (1 Cor. 11:30). It is beneficial for the righteous to recognize his sins, to wrestle with his conscience, and to echo the Psalmist's words: "I have returned to my passion, when my thorns were taken away" (Psalm 31:4). Just as the wicked is not thwarted by his sins and can turn from his path to receive new life, so too the righteous cannot rely solely on their past virtue if they are weighed down by new sins. The implication of the statement concerning his death is that he could have lived had he been properly admonished by the watchman and teacher.
THEOSIS