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.”

He said to me, “Son of man, what you have found, eat. Eat this scroll, then go speak to the house of Israel.”

2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.

So I opened my mouth, and he fed me that scroll.

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.

He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I have given to you!” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.

5 For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—

For you are not being sent to a people of strange speech or difficult language, 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 peoples of strange speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

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 be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me. So all the house of Israel is strong browed and hard hearted.

8 Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

Behold! I have made your face as stubborn as their faces and your brow as hard as their brows.

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.”

I have made your brow like a diamond, harder than flint! Do not fear them or be discouraged by their faces, since they are a rebellious house.”

10 “Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, all the words that I announce to you—take them into your heart and hear them with your 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.”

Then go to the captives, to your people, and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says,' whether they will listen or not.”

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 the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of Yahweh 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.

It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels that were with them, and the sound of a great earthquake.

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.

The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went with bitterness in my spirit's rage, for the hand of Yahweh was powerfully pressing on 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.

So I went to the captives at Tel Aviv who lived along the Kebar Canal, and I stayed there among them for seven days, overwhelmed in amazement.

16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Then it happened after seven days that the word of Yahweh came to 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 you a watchman for the house of Israel, so listen to the word from my mouth, and give them my warning.

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 to the wicked, 'You will surely die' and you do not warn him or speak a warning to the wicked about his evil deeds so he might live—the wicked one will die for his sin, but I will require his blood from your 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 if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked deeds, then he will die for his sin, but you will have rescued your own life.

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.

If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I set a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and I will not call to mind the righteous deeds that he performed, but I will require his blood from your 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 you warn the righteous man to stop sinning so that he no longer sins, he will surely live since he was warned; and you will have rescued your own life.”

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.”

So the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, “Arise! Go out into the plain, and I will speak with you there!”

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.

I arose and went out into the plain, and there the glory of Yahweh was staying, like the glory that I had seen beside the Kebar Canal; so I fell 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.

The Spirit came to me and stood me up on my feet; and he spoke with me, and said to me, “Go and shut yourself up within your 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.

for now, son of man, they will place ropes upon you and tie you so you cannot 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.

I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so you will be mute, and you will not be able to rebuke them, since they are a rebellious house.

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 you, I will open your mouth so you will say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says.' The one who will hear will hear; the one who will not listen will not listen, for they are a rebellious house!”