Ezekiel 3

1 And He says to me, “Son of man, eat that which you find, eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house 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 And I open my mouth, and He causes me to eat this scroll.

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

3 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.

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

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 deep of lip and heavy of tongue—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 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,

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 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.

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

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

9 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.”

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 says to me, “Son of man, all My words that I speak to you, receive with your heart, and hear 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 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.”

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 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!”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

17 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.

“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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.”

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.”