Ezekiel 3
1 “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”
And he said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest: eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.
So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat this roll.
3 “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
And he said unto me, Son of man, feed thy belly, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I am giving unto thee. And I ate it; and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—
For not to a people of an obscure speech and of a difficult tongue art thou sent, but to the house of Israel;
6 not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
Not to many people of an obscure speech and of a difficult tongue, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would truly have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me; for all the house of Israel have a bold forehead, and a hard heart.
8 Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
Behold, I have made thy face strong against their face, and thy forehead strong against their forehead.
9 I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”
As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: thou shalt not fear them, nor shalt thou be dismayed at their presence, though they be a rebellious family.
10 “Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.
And he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I will speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear [them] with thy ears.
11 Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”
And go, get thee to those in exile, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal: whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: ‘Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!’
Then a spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [saying, ] Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.
13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound.
[I heard] also the sound of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the sound of the wheels at the same time with them, and the sound of a great rushing.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
So a spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I walked in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the inspiration of the Lord was strong upon me.
15 I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
Then came I to the exiles at Tel-abib, who dwelt by the river Kebar, and I remained where they dwelt, and I remained there in a state of confusion among them seven days.
16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, That the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: and thou shalt hear the word out of my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou dost not give him warning, and speakest not to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life: the same wicked man shall die through his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
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.
But thou, —if thou hast warned the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way: he shall indeed die in his iniquity; but thou hast surely delivered thy soul.
20 Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood.
Again, When a righteous man do turn from his righteousness, and do what is wrong: then will I lay a stumbling-block before him, [so that] he shall die; yet if thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his acts of righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require from thy hand.
21 But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
But if thou hast truly warned him, —the righteous, that the righteous should not sin, and he doth not sin: he shall surely live, because he attended to the warning, and thou hast surely delivered thy own soul.
22 And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
And the inspiration of the Lord came there over me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the valley, and there will I speak with thee.
23 So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.
And I arose, and went forth into the valley; and, behold, there was the glory of the Lord standing, like that glory which I had seen by the river Kebar: and I fell down on my face.
24 Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
Then entered a spirit into me, and placed me upright on my feet, and spoke with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself up within thy house.
25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.
But thou, O son of man, behold, they put ropes upon thee, and bind thee with them, that thou canst not go out among them:
26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
And I will let thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not become to them a man who reproveth; for they are a rebellious family.
27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forebear; for they are a rebellious family.
