Ezekiel 3

1 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, that which thou findest eat, eat this roll, and go, speak unto 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 causeth me to eat this roll.

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

3 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

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 saith unto me, 'Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto 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, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue [art] thou sent — unto 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 unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand. If I had not sent thee unto them — they, they do hearken unto thee,

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 hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto 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 'Lo, I have made thy face strong against their face, and thy 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 thy forehead; thou dost not fear them, nor art thou affrighted before them, for a rebellious house [are] they.'

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 saith unto me, 'Son of man, all My words, that I speak unto thee, receive with thy heart, and with thine ears hear;

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, enter in unto the Removed, unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast spoken unto them, and hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: whether they hear, or whether they 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 And lift me up doth a spirit, and I hear behind me a noise, a great rushing — 'Blessed [is] the honour of Jehovah 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 over-against 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 a spirit hath lifted me up, and doth take me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah on me [is] strong.

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 in unto the Removed, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell 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 cometh 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 Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast 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: Thou dost surely die; and thou hast not warned him, nor hast spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he doth live; he — the wicked — in his iniquity dieth, and his blood from thy hand I require.

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 thou, because thou hast warned the wicked, and he hath not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he in his iniquity dieth, and thou thy soul hast delivered.

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 hath done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dieth; because thou hast not warned him, in his sin he dieth, and not remembered is his righteousness that he hath done, and his blood from thy hand I require.

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 thou, because thou hast warned him — the righteous — that the righteous sin not, and he hath not sinned, he surely liveth, because he hath been warned; and thou thy soul hast delivered.'

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 on me there a hand of Jehovah, and He saith to me, 'Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I do speak with thee.'

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 unto the valley, and lo, there the honour of Jehovah is standing as the honour 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 come into me doth a spirit, and causeth me to stand on my feet, and He speaketh with me, and saith unto me, 'Go in, be shut up in the midst of thy 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 thou, son of man, lo, they have put on thee thick bands, and have bound thee with them, and thou goest not 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 thy tongue I cause to cleave unto thy palate, and thou hast been dumb, and art not to them for a reprover, for a rebellious house [are] they.

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 thee, I do open thy mouth, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah; the hearer doth hear, and the forbearer doth forbear; for a rebellious house [are] they.

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.”