Jezekiel 3

1 And he said to me, Son of Man, eat this volume, and go and speak to the children of Israel.

2 So he opened my mouth, and caused me to eat the volume. And he said to me, Son of man,

3 your mouth shall eat, and your belly shall be filled with this volume that is given to you. So I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, Son of man, go your way, and go in to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

5 For you are not sent to a people of hard speech, [but] to the house of Israel;

6 neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words you would not understand: although if I [had] sent you to such, they would have listened to you.

7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you; for they will not listen to me: for all the house of Israel are stubborn and hard-hearted.

8 And, behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen your power against their power.

9 And it shall be continually stronger than a rock: be not afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their faces, because it is a provoking house.

10 And he said to me, Son of man, receive into your heart all the words that I have spoken to you, and hear [them] with your ears.

11 And go your way, go in to the captivity, to the children of your people, and you shall speak to them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord; whether they will hear, [or] whether they will forbear.

12 Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice [as] of a great earthquake, [saying], Blessed [be] the glory of the Lord from his place.

13 And I perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures clapping one to the other, and the sound of the wheels was near them, and the sound of the earthquake.

14 And the Spirit lifted me, and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was mighty upon me.

15 Then I passed through the air and came into the captivity, and went round [to] them that lived by the river of Chobar who were there; and I sat there seven days, conversant in the midst of them.

16 And after the seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man,

17 I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel; and you shall hear a word of my mouth, and shall threaten them from me.

18 When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; and you have not warned him, to give warning to the wicked, to turn from his ways, that he should live; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.

19 But if you warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, and you shall deliver your soul.

20 And when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits a trespass, and I shall bring punishment before him, he shall die, because you did not warn him: he shall even die in his sins, because his righteousness shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at your hand.

21 But if you warn the righteous not to sin, and he sin not, the righteous shall surely live, because you have warned him; and you shall deliver your own soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord came upon me; and he said to me, Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shall you be spoken to.

23 And I arose, and went forth to the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, according to the vision, and according to the glory of the Lord, which I saw by the river of Chobar: and I fell on my face.

24 Then the Spirit came upon me, and set me on my feet, and spoke to me, and said to me, Go in, and shut yourself up in the midst of your house.

25 And you, son of man, behold, bonds are prepared for you, and they shall bind you with them, and you shall not come forth of the midst of them.

26 Also I will bind your tongue, and you shall be dumb, and shall not be to them a reprover: because it is a provoking house.

27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, He that hears, let him hear; and he that is disobedient, let him be disobedient: because it is a provoking house.