Ezekiel 2

1 He said to me, “You human, stand up while I speak to you.”

He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”

2 While he spoke to me, [God’s] Spirit entered me and enabled me to stand up. Then I heard him speak to me.

The Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him who spoke to me.

3 He said, “You human, I will send you to the Israeli people. They are people who have turned away from me and rebelled against me. Their ancestors rebelled against me, and they themselves are still rebelling against me.

He said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.

4 The people to whom I will send you are very stubborn [DOU]. But say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you.’

The children are impudent and stiff-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’

5 [when you tell them my messages], perhaps those rebellious people will heed those messages and perhaps they will not heed them, but they will know [you are] a prophet who has been among them.

They, whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that there has been a prophet among them.

6 And you human, you must not be afraid of them or afraid of what they say. [Living among them will be like] living in the midst of briers or scorpions, but do not be afraid of them. They are rebellious people [MTY], but do not allow them to cause you to become afraid.

You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

7 Tell them my message, but do not expect them to pay attention to it, because they [very] rebellious.

You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear or whether they will refuse; for they are most rebellious.

8 But human, you must pay attention to what I say. Do not be rebellious like they are. [Now] open your mouth and eat what I give to you.”

But you, son of man, hear what I tell you. Don’t be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth, and eat that which I give you.”

9 Then, as I watched, I saw his hand that was stretched toward me. In his hand was a scroll.

When I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.

10 He unrolled the scroll. On both sides of it were written words that expressed sorrow and mourning and words about trouble/disaster.

He spread it before me. It was written within and without; and lamentations, mourning, and woe were written in it.