Ezekiel 3

1 And he said to me, Son of man, take this roll for your food, and go and say my words to the children of Israel.

And he said to me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak to the house of Israel!

2 And, on my opening my mouth, he made me take the roll as food.

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the roll to eat.

3 And he said to me, Son of man, let your stomach make a meal of it and let your inside be full of this roll which I am giving you. Then I took it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

And he said to me, Son of man, let thy stomach eat, and fill thy body with this roll which I give thee! Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4 And he said to me, Son of man, go now to the children of Israel, and say my words to them.

And he said to me: Son of man, go, get thee to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them!

5 For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel;

For not to a people of a dark speech and a hard language art thou sent, but to the house of Israel;

6 Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you.

not to many nations of a dark speech and a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Truly, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened to thee.

7 But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart.

But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee, for they will not hearken to me. For the whole house of Israel is brazen-faced and stiff-hearted.

8 See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows.

Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9 Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.

As an adamant, harder than flint, have I made thy forehead; fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks; for they are a rebellious house.

10 Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I am about to say to you, and let your ears be open to them.

Moreover, he said to me: Son of man, all my words, which I shall speak to thee, receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears!

11 And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not.

And go, get thee to them of the captivity, to the children of thy people, and speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

12 Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place.

Then the spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound, as of a great rushing, saying, “Praised be the majesty of Jehovah from his place!”

13 And there was the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels at their side, the sound of a great rushing.

I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures, that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even a noise of a great rushing.

14 And the wind, lifting me up, took me away: and I went in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.

So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

15 Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.

Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar; and I dwelt where they dwelt; I even dwelt astonished among them seven days.

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And at the end of seven days, the word of Jehovah came to me, and said:

17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger.

Son of man, I have set thee as a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me!

18 When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die! and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he may live, that wicked man shall die for his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

19 But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

Again, when a righteous man turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, and he shall die because thou hast not given him warning, he will die for his sin; and his righteousness which he hath done will not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

21 But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

Yet if thou warn the righteous man, that he sin not, and the righteous man doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he hath received warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord was on me there; and he said, Get up and go out into the valley and there I will have talk with you.

And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me, and he said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and there will I speak with thee.

23 Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.

Then I arose, and went forth into the plain, and lo, the glory of Jehovah stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

24 Then the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and he had talk with me and said to me, Go and keep yourself shut up inside your house.

Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet. And he spake with me, and said to me: Go, shut thyself within thy house.

25 But see, O son of man, I will put bands on you, prisoning you in them, and you will not go out among them:

And behold, O son of man, bands shall be put upon thee, and thou shalt be bound therewith; and thou shalt not go out among them.

26 And I will make your tongue fixed to the roof of your mouth, so that you have no voice and may not make protests to them: for they are an uncontrolled people.

And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that will hear, let him hear, and he that will forbear, let him forbear; for they are a rebellious house.