Ezekiel 3
1 And he said to me: Son of man, eat all that thou shalt find: eat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel.
“Son of man,” he told me, “eat what you find placed before you. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the people of Israel.”
2 And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:
I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 And he said to me: Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give thee. And I did eat it: and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.
“Son of man,” he said to me, “eat and fill yourself up with this scroll I'm giving you.” So I ate the scroll, and it tasted as sweet as honey.
4 And he said to me: Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.
Then he told me, “Son of man, now you are to go to the people of Israel and give my message to them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an unknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:
I'm not sending you to those whose language is foreign to you, to people that you don't know—but to the people of Israel.
6 Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue, whose words thou canst not understand: and if thou wert sent to them, they would hearken to thee.
As I say, I'm not sending you to those whose language is foreign to you, to people that you don't know, whose words you don't understand. On the other hand, if I had sent you to foreigners, they would have listened to you.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee: because they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and an obstinate heart.
But the people of Israel won't want to listen to you, because they don't want to listen to me. All the Israelites are strong-minded and hard-hearted.
8 Behold I have made thy face stronger than their faces: and thy forehead harder than their foreheads.
Look! I'm going to make you as tough as them, and as strong-minded as them.
9 I have made thy face like an adamant and like flint: fear them not, neither be thou dismayed at their presence: for they are a provoking house.
I will make your mind like adamant, harder than flint. Don't be afraid of what they say or discouraged by the way they look at you, even though they are a rebellious people.”
10 And he said to me: Son of man, receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears, all the words that I speak to thee:
“Son of man,” he added, “pay close attention to everything I tell you, and think deeply about it yourself.
11 And go get thee in to them of the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: If so be they will hear and will forbear.
Go to your people who are in exile. Tell them this is what the Lord God says, whether they listen or not.”
12 And the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great commotion, saying: Blessed be the glory of the Lord, from his place.
The Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a really loud noise behind me that sounded like an earthquake. (Praise to the Lord's glory where he lives!)
13 And the noise of the wings of the living creatures striking one against another, and the noise of the wheels following the living creatures, and the noise of a great commotion.
It was the sound made by the wings of the beings as they brushed against each other and the noise made by the wheels next to them, a really loud noise that sounded like an earthquake.
14 The spirit also lifted me, and took me up: and I went away in bitterness in the indignation of my spirit: for the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.
As I said, the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. As I went I was feeling upset and angry; however the Lord's power had taken full control of me.
15 And I came to them of the captivity, to the heap of new corn, to them that dwelt by the river Chobar, and I sat where they sat: and I remained there seven days mourning in the midst of them.
I arrived at the place where the exiles lived, Tel-abib by the River Kebar. I just sat with them, staying with them there for seven days. I was completely overcome with emotion.
16 And at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
After the seven days had passed, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel: and thou shalt hear the word out of my mouth, and shalt tell it them from me.
“Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Whenever I give you a message, then you must warn them for me.
18 If, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die: thou declare it not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted from his wicked way, and live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand.
For example, if I give a warning to someone who's wicked, saying, ‘You are going to die for sure,’ but you don't warn them, if you don't speak out to warn them to stop their wicked ways so they can go on living, then that wicked person will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their death.
19 But if thou give warning to the wicked, and he be not converted from his wickedness, and from his evil way: he indeed shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
But if you warn them, and they don't stop their wicked ways, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself—you won't die.
20 Moreover if the just man shall turn away from his justice, and shall commit iniquity: I will lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die, because thou hast not given him warning: he shall die in his sin, and his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered: but I will require his blood at thy hand.
Again, if someone who lives right stops doing so and sins and disregards my attempts to correct them, then they will die. If you didn't warn them, they will die in their sins, and the good things they did won't be remembered. In addition, I will hold you responsible for their death.
21 But if thou warn the just man, that the just may not sin, and he doth not sin: living he shall live, because thou hast warned him, and thou hast delivered thy soul.
However, if you warn those who are living right not to sin, and they don't sin, they will live for sure, because they paid attention to your warning, and you will have saved yourself—you won't die.”
22 And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he said to me: Rise and go forth into the plain, and there I will speak to thee.
The Lord's power took control of me there, and he told me, “Get up! Go to the valley, and I will talk to you there.”
23 And I rose up, and went forth into the plain: and behold the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chobar: and I fell upon my face.
So I got up and went to the valley, and there I saw the Lord's glory. It was like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown on the ground.
24 And the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet: and he spoke to me, and said to me: Go in; and shut thyself up in the midst of thy house.
Then the Spirit came into me and made me stand upright. He told me, “Go into your house and shut the door.
25 And thou, O son of man, behold they shall put bands upon thee, and they shall bind thee with them: and thou shalt not go forth from the midst of them.
You will be tied up with ropes, son of man. You will be bound so that won't be able to go out among the people.
26 And I will make thy tongue stick fast to the roof of thy mouth, and thou shalt be dumb, and not as a man that reproveth: because they are a provoking house.
I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. You won't be able to speak and complain to them, even though they are a rebellious people.
27 But when I shall speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: He that heareth, let him hear: and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a provoking house.
However, when I talk with you, I will open your mouth so you can tell them that this is what the Lord God says. Those who want to listen will listen, and those who want to refuse will refuse, for they are a rebellious people.”
