Ezekiel 3

1 “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.”

And He says to me, “Son of man, eat that which you find, eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

2 I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

And I open my mouth, and He causes me to eat this scroll.

3 “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.

And He says to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I am giving to you”; and I eat it, and it is as honey for sweetness in my mouth.

4 Then he told me, “Son of man, now you are to go to the people of Israel and give my message to them.

And He says to me, “Son of man, go forth, go to the house of Israel, and you have spoken to them with My words.

5 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.

For you [are] not sent to a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue—to the house of Israel;

6 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.

not to many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words you do not understand. If I had not sent you to them—they listen to you,

7 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.

but the house of Israel are not willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.

8 Look! I'm going to make you as tough as them, and as strong-minded as them.

Behold, I have made your face strong against their face, and your forehead strong against their forehead.

9 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.”

As an adamant, harder than a rock, I have made your forehead; do not fear them, nor are you frightened before them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.”

10 “Son of man,” he added, “pay close attention to everything I tell you, and think deeply about it yourself.

And He says to me, “Son of man, all My words that I speak to you, receive with your heart, and hear with your ears;

11 Go to your people who are in exile. Tell them this is what the Lord God says, whether they listen or not.”

and go forth, go to the expulsion, to the sons of your people, and you have spoken to them, and have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; whether they hear, or whether they refrain.”

12 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!)

And a spirit lifts me up, and I hear a noise behind me, a great rushing—“Blessed [is] the glory of YHWH from His place!”

13 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.

Even a noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and a noise of the wheels alongside them, even a noise of a great rushing.

14 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.

And [the] Spirit has lifted me up, and takes me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of YHWH [is] strong on me.

15 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.

And I come to the expulsion, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell [for] seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.

16 After the seven days had passed, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

And it comes to pass, at the end of seven days,

17 “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.

that there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man, I have given you [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and you have heard a word from My mouth, and have warned them from Me.

18 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.

In My saying to the wicked: You surely die; and you have not warned him, nor have spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he lives; he—the wicked—dies in his iniquity, and I require his blood from your hand.

19 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.

And you, because you have warned the wicked, and he has not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he dies in his iniquity, and you have delivered your soul.

20 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.

And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he has done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dies; because you have not warned him, he dies in his sin, and his righteousness that he has done is not remembered, and I require his blood from your hand.

21 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.”

And you, because you have warned him—the righteous—that the righteous does not sin, and he has not sinned, he surely lives, because he has been warned; and you have delivered your soul.”

22 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.”

And there is a hand of YHWH on me there, and He says to me, “Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I speak with you.”

23 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.

And I rise and go forth to the valley, and behold, there the glory of YHWH is standing as the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.

24 Then the Spirit came into me and made me stand upright. He told me, “Go into your house and shut the door.

And [the] Spirit comes into me, and causes me to stand on my feet, and He speaks with me, and says to me, “Go in, be shut up in the midst of your house.

25 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.

And you, son of man, behold, they have put thick bands on you, and have bound you with them, and you do not go forth in their midst;

26 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.

and I cause your tongue to cleave to your palate, and you have been mute, and are not for a reprover to them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

27 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.”

And in My speaking with you, I open your mouth, and you have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; the hearer hears, and the refrainer refrains; for they [are] a house of rebellion.”