Jezekiel 3

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

And he said to me: “Son of man, eat whatever you will find; eat this scroll, and, going forth, speak to the sons of Israel.”

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

And I opened my mouth, and he fed me that scroll.

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.

And he said to me: “Son of man, your stomach shall eat, and your interior shall be filled with this scroll, which I am giving to you.” And I ate it, and in my mouth it became 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.

And he said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and you shall speak my words to them.

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

For you will be sent, not to a people of profound words or of an unknown language, 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.

and not to many peoples of profound words or of an unknown language, whose words you would not be able to understand. But if you were sent to them, they would listen 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.

Yet the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you. For they are not willing to listen to me. Certainly, the entire house of Israel has a brazen forehead and a hardened heart.

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

Behold, I have made your face stronger than their faces, and your forehead harder than their foreheads.

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.

I have made your face like hardened iron and like flint. You should not fear them, and you should not have dread before their face. For they are 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.

And he said to me: “Son of man, listen with your ears, and take into your heart, all my words, which I am speaking to you.

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.

And go forth and enter to those of the transmigration, to the sons of your people. And you shall speak to them. And you shall say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Perhaps it may be that they will listen and be quieted.”

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.

And the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great commotion, saying, “Blessed is 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.

and the voice of the wings of the living creatures striking against one another, and the voice of the wheels following the living creatures, and the voice of a great commotion.

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.

Then the Spirit lifted me and took me away. And I went forth in bitterness, with the indignation of my spirit. For the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening 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.

And I went to those of the transmigration, to the stockpile of new crops, to those who were living beside the river Chebar. And I sat where they were sitting. And I remained there for seven days, while mourning in their midst.

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

Then, when seven days had passed, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

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.

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. And so, you shall listen to the word from my mouth, and you shall announce it to 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.

If, when I say to the impious man, ‘You shall certainly die,’ you do not announce it to him, and you do not speak so that he may turn aside from his impious way and live, then the same impious man will die in his iniquity. But I will attribute his blood to 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.

But if you announce it to the impious man, and he is not converted from his impiety and from his impious way, then indeed he will die in his iniquity. But you will have delivered your own 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.

Moreover, if the just man turns aside from his justice and commits iniquity, I will place a stumbling block before him. He shall die, because you have not announced to him. He shall die in his sin, and his justices that he did shall not be remembered. Yet truly, I will attribute his blood to 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.

But if you announce to the just man, so that the just man may not sin, and he does not sin, then he shall certainly live, because you have announced to him. And you will have delivered 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.

And the hand of the Lord was over me. And he said to me: “Rise up, and go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”

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.

And I rose up, and I went out to the plain. And behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory that I saw beside the river Chebar. And I fell upon 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.

And the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet. And he spoke to me, and he said to me: “Enter and enclose yourself 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.

And as for you, son of man, behold: they shall put chains upon you and bind you with them. And you shall not go out from their midst.

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.

And I will cause your tongue to adhere to the roof of your mouth. And you will be mute, not like a man who reproaches. For they are 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.

But when I will speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Whoever is listening, let him hear. And whoever is quieted, let him be quieted. For they are a provoking house.”