1 H e said to me, Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this book, then go and speak to the people of Israel.”

2 S o I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat the scroll.

So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this book.

3 A nd He said to me, Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

And He said to me, “Son of man, eat this book that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 A nd He said to me, Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel and speak to them with My words.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel, and speak My words to them.

5 F or you are not sent to a people of a foreign speech and of a difficult language but to the house of Israel;

For you are not being sent to people of strange speech and a hard language, but to the people of Israel.

6 N ot to many peoples of foreign speech and of a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to such people, they would have listened to you and heeded My words.

You are not being sent to many people of strange speech and a hard language whom you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

7 B ut the house of Israel will not listen to you and obey you since they will not listen to Me and obey Me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and stubborn of heart.

But the people of Israel will not listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me. All the people of Israel are strong-willed and show no respect.

8 B ehold, I have made your face strong and hard against their faces and your forehead strong and hard against their foreheads.

See, I have made you as strong-willed and as hard as they are.

9 L ike an adamant harder than flint or a diamond point have I made your forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

I have made your forehead harder than the hardest stone. Do not be afraid of them. Do not be afraid of how they look, even if they do not obey Me.”

10 M oreover, He said to me, Son of man, all My words that I shall speak to you, receive in your heart and hear with your ears.

He said to me, “Son of man, take all My words that I say to you into your heart, and hear with your ears.

11 A nd go, get you to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God, whether they will hear or refuse to hear.

Then go to the Jews who have been taken away from their land. Go to the sons of your people. And if they listen or not, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’”

12 T hen the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud sounding voice behind me say, “Great is the shining-greatness of the Lord from His place.”

13 I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched and joined each one the other, and I heard the noise of the wheels beside them and the noise of a great rushing.

I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them. It was a loud rushing sound.

14 S o the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. And I went with a bitter and angry spirit. The hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

15 T hen I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, who sat and dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat and remained there among them seven days, overwhelmed with astonishment and silent.

Then I came to the Jews who had been taken from their land and who lived by the Chebar River at Tel-abib. I sat among them seven days where they were living, and I was filled with fear. Ezekiel to Watch Over Israel

16 A nd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me:

At the end of seven days the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,

17 S on of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at My mouth and give them warning from Me.

“Son of man, I have chosen you to be a watchman over the people of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, tell them of the danger.

18 I f I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not give him warning or speak to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at your hand.

If I say to the sinful man, ‘You will die for sure,’ and you do not tell him of the danger, and try to turn him from his sinful way so that he may live, that sinful man will die in his sin. But you will be guilty for his blood.

19 Y et if you warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself.

But if you tell a sinful man of the danger he is in, and he does not turn from his sins or from his sinful way, then he will die in his sin. But you will have saved yourself.

20 A gain, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right doing and right standing with God) and some gift or providence which I lay before him he perverts into an occasion to sin and he commits iniquity, he shall die; because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood will I require at your hand.

Again, if a right and good man turns away from his right and good way and sins, and I put a cause of falling in his way, he will die. Because you have not told him of the danger, he will die in his sin, and the right and good things he has done will not be remembered. But you will be guilty for his blood.

21 N evertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned; also you have delivered yourself from guilt.

Yet if you have told the right and good man of the danger of his sinning, and he does not sin, he will live for sure because he listened to you. And you will have saved yourself.” Ezekiel Is Not Able to Speak

22 A nd the hand of the Lord was there upon me, and He said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain and I will talk with you there.

The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and I will speak to you there.”

23 T hen I arose and went forth into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.

So I got up and went out to the plain, and saw the shining-greatness of the Lord standing there. It was like the shining-greatness which I saw by the Chebar River, and I fell on my face.

24 T hen the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; He spoke and said to me, Go, shut yourself up in your house.

Then the Spirit came into me and made me stand on my feet. And He spoke and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house.

25 B ut you, O son of man, behold, ropes will be put upon you and you will be bound with them, and you cannot go out among people.

As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.

26 A nd I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth so that you cannot talk and be a reprover of the people, for they are a rebellious house.

And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you cannot speak. You will not be able to speak sharp words to them, for they will not obey Me.

27 B ut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to the people, Thus says the Lord God; he who hears, let him hear, and he who refuses to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you will tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ He who hears, let him hear. And he who is not willing to hear, let him not be willing. For they are a sinful people.