Ezekiel 2

1 And he said to me, Son of man, get up on your feet, so that I may say words to you.

“Stand up, son of man, because I want to talk to you,” he said to me.

2 And at his words the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and his voice came to my ears.

As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and had me stand up. I listened to him speaking to me.

3 And he said to me, Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to an uncontrolled nation which has gone against me: they and their fathers have been sinners against me even to this very day.

“Son of man,” he told me, “I'm sending you to the people of Israel, a disobedient nation that has rebelled against me. They and their forefathers have continued to rebel against me, even up to today.

4 And the children are hard and stiff-hearted; I am sending you to them: and you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord.

They are pig-headed; they are hard-hearted children. I am sending you to tell them that this is what the Lord God says.

5 And they, if they give ear to you or if they do not give ear (for they are an uncontrolled people), will see that there has been a prophet among them.

Whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious people—they will realize that a prophet has come to them.

6 And you, son of man, have no fear of them or of their words, even if sharp thorns are round you and you are living among scorpions: have no fear of their words and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.

Son of man, don't be afraid of them or what they say. You don't need to be afraid even though you're surrounded by brambles and thorns, even though you live among scorpions. Don't be afraid of what they say or be discouraged by the way they look at you, even though they are a rebellious family.

7 And you are to give them my words, if they give ear to you or if they do not: for they are uncontrolled.

Just tell them what I say, whether they listen or not, because they're rebels.

8 But you, son of man, give ear to what I say to you, and do not be uncontrolled like that uncontrolled people: let your mouth be open and take what I give you.

As for you, son of man, pay attention to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like those rebellious people. Open your mouth and eat what I'm about to give you.”

9 And looking, I saw a hand stretched out to me, and I saw the roll of a book in it;

I looked up and saw a hand stretched out to me holding a scroll.

10 And he put it open before me, and it had writing on the front and on the back; words of grief and sorrow and trouble were recorded in it.

He spread it out in front of me, and there written on both the front and back were words of grief, mourning, and tragedy.