< Ezekiel 3 >

1 He said to me, “You human, eat this scroll that is in front of you. Then go and speak to the Israeli people [MTY].”
Then said he unto me, Son of man What thou findest, eat, —eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat it.
So I opened my mouth, —and he caused me to eat this roll.
3 Then he said to me, “You human, eat the scroll that I have given to you. Fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and in my mouth it tasted as sweet as honey.
Then said he unto me Son of man. Thy belly, cause thou to eat and thy bowels, fill thou with this roll which I am giving unto thee. So I did eat, and it became in my mouth, as honey for sweetness.
4 Then he said to me, “You human, go to the Israeli people [MTY] and tell them my message.
Then said he unto me, — Son of man Go get thee unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak with my words, unto them.
5 The people to whom I am sending you are not people whose language is very [to learn], a language which you do not understand. I am sending you to your Israeli people [MTY].
For not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue, art thou sent —[but] unto the house of Israel:
6 I am sending you to people whose language you understand very well. If I were sending you to people whose language was difficult for you to understand, they [be surprised and] pay attention to what [say to them].
not unto many peoples deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou couldst not understand, —surely if unto them I had sent thee, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the Israeli people do not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to me. [They do not want to listen because] they are all very stubborn [DOU].
But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto me, —for all the house of Israel are bold of forehead and hard of heart.
8 But I will enable you [SYN] to be as stubborn and tough as they are.
Lo! I have made thy face bold like as their faces, and thy forehead bold like as their forehead.
9 I will cause you to be as firm/unbreakable as [SIM] the hardest stone, like flint. So, [even though] they are very rebellious people, do not be afraid of them; do not allow them to cause you to be afraid.”
As an adamant harder than flint, have I made thy forehead, —thou shalt not fear them neither shalt thou be dismayed at their faces, For a perverse house, they are!
10 He also said to me, “You human, listen very carefully to what I say, and keep thinking about it [IDM].
Then said he unto me, — Son of man. All my words which I shall speak unto thee, receive thou into thy heart and in thine ears, hear thou:
11 Go to your fellow Israelis who [here after being] (exiled/forced to leave their country), and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ [and then tell them my message], whether they want to hear it or whether they do not want to hear it.”
then go get thee unto them of the captivity, unto the sons of thy people, and thou shalt speak unto them and say unto them, Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.
12 [in the vision] the [of God] lifted me up, and I heard behind [someone speaking very loudly], like a loud rumbling sound. [I heard someone say, ] “Praise our glorious Yahweh in the place where he [in heaven]!”
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing, — Blessed be the glory of Yahweh. From his place!
13 [I heard] the sound of the wings of the four living creatures brushing against each other, [I also heard] the sound of the wheels that were beside them. It was a loud rumbling sound.
Yea the sound of the wings of the living ones, gently touching each other, and the sound of the wheels, along with them, even the sound of a great rushing.
14 The Spirit took me away. Within me I was very bitter and angry [DOU], but I felt Yahweh holding me very powerfully.
So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away, —and I went bitterly, in the rage of my spirit, but the hand of Yahweh upon me was strong.
15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel [town] near the Kebar River/ [south of Babylon]. Then, where they were living, I sat for seven days. I was [about everything that I had seen].
Thus came I unto them of the captivity, at Tel-abib. who were dwelling towards he river Chebar and I dwelt where They were dwelling; yea I dwelt there seven days, stunned in their midst,
16 After those seven days had ended, Yahweh gave me this message:
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Yahweh came unto me saying
17 “You human, I am appointing [to be like] a watchman [MET] for the Israeli people [MTY]. [So] listen to these messages that I will give you, and tell them those messages to warn them.
Son of man, A watchman, have I appointed thee to the house of Israel, —and thou shalt hear, at my mouth a message, and shalt warn them from me.
18 When I say about some wicked people, ‘They will surely [because of their sins],’ if you do not warn them or tell them that they must turn from their wicked behavior if they want to (save their lives/remain alive), those wicked people will die because of the sins that they have committed, but I will consider that you are responsible for their deaths [MTY].
When I say to the lawless man— Thou shalt surely die, and thou hast not given him warning, neither hast spoken to warn the lawless man from his lawless way, to save himself alive the same lawless man in his iniquity shall die, but his blood, at thy hand, will I require.
19 But if you warn the wicked people and they do not turn from all their wicked behavior [DOU], they will die because of their sins, but you will have saved [from my punishing you].
Whereas when thou hast warned a lawless man, and he hath not turned from his lawlessness and from his lawless way he in his iniquity shall die, but Thou hast delivered thine own soul.
20 Similarly, when righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and do evil deeds, I will cause bad things to happen [IDM] to them. [But you must warn them. If you do not warn them], and if they do not stop their sinful behavior, they will die because of their sins; I will not think about the righteous things that they [previously], but I will consider that you are responsible for their deaths [MTY].
And when a righteous man hath turned from his righteousness, and committed perversity, and I have suffered a stumbling- block to be laid before him he shall die, —though thou hast not warned him, in his sin, shall he die, neither shall be remembered his righteous deeds which he hath done, but his blood, at thy hand will I require;
21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin, and they do not sin, they will surely remain alive because they [your] warning, and you will have saved [from my punishing you].”
whereas when Thou hast warned a righteous man. That a righteous man must not sin and he hath not sinned, he shall surely live in that he took warning, and thou hast delivered thine own soul.
22 [I felt] Yahweh take control [MTY] of me, and he said to me, “Get up and go [from the city down] to the plain/valley, and there I will speak to you.”
Then came upon me there the hand of Yahweh, —and he said unto me, Arise go forth into the valley, and there, will I speak with thee.
23 So I got up and went down to the valley. And I saw the glory of Yahweh there, like the glory that I had seen along the Kebar River/Canal. And I prostrated myself on the ground.
So I arose and went forth into the valley, and lo! there the glory of Yahweh, standing, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, -and I fell upon my face.
24 Then the [of God] entered me and enabled me to stand up. He said to me, “Go into your house and stay inside it.
Then the Spirit entered into me, and caused me to stand upon my feet, —and he spake with me and said unto me, Go in shut thyself up, in the midst of thine own house,
25 People will tie you with ropes, with the result that you will be unable to go out among the people.
And thou—O son of man, lo! they have put upon thee bands, and they will bind thee therewith, -. so that thou go not forth in their midst;
26 [Even though] they are very rebellious people, I will cause your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth, with the result that you will be unable to talk and to rebuke them.
thy tongue also, will I cause to cleave unto the roof of thy mouth, so shalt thou be dumb and not be to them a reprover, — For a perverse house, they are!
27 [then] when I speak to [again], I will enable you to talk [MTY], and you will say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ [and you will tell them my message]. Those who are willing to [to what you say] will listen, [many] will refuse to listen, because they are rebellious people [MTY].”
But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them. Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, —He that is minded to hear, let him hear, And he that is minded to forbear, let him forbear! For a perverse house, they are!

< Ezekiel 3 >