EZEKIEL Chapter 3

And He said to me, 'Son of man,

Eat what is before you, this Scroll;

Then go and speak to the House of Israel.'

2 So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the Scroll to eat.

3 The He said to me, 'Son of man,

Eat this Scroll I am giving you

And fill your stomach with it.'

I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 He then said to me:

'Son of man, go now to the House of Israel

And speak My Words to them.

5 You are not being sent to a people

Of obscure speech and difficult language,

Whose words you cannot understand.

SURELY IF I HAD SENT YOU TO THEM,

THEY WOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOU.

7 But the House of Israel is not willing to listen to you

Because they are not willing to listen to Me,

For the Whole House of Israel is Hardened and Obstinate.

8 BUT I WILL MAKE YOU

AS UNYIELDING AND HARDENED AS THEY ARE.

9 I WILL MAKE YOUR FOREHEAD LIKE THE HARDEST STONE,

HARDER THAN FLINT.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM OR TERRIFIED BY THEM,

THOUGH THEY ARE A REBELLIOUS HOUSE.'

10 And He said to me,

'Son of man, listen carefully

And take to heart all the worlds I speak to you.

11 Go now to your country men in Exile and speak to them.

Say to them,

'THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS,'

Whether thy listen or fail to listen.'

12 THEN THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP,

And I heard behind me a loud rushing sound--

May the Glory of the Lord be Praised in His Dwelling Place--

13 The sound of the Wings of the Living Creatures

Brushing against each other

And the sound of the Wheels beside them,

A loud rushing sound.

THE SPIRIT THEN LIFTED ME UP

And took me away,

And I went in Bitterness and in the Anger of my spirit,

WITH THE STRONG HAND OF THE LORD UPON ME.

15 I came to the Exiles who lived at Tel Aviv

Near the Kebar River.

And there, where they were living,

I sat among them for seven days—Overwhelmed.

Warning To Israel

16 At the end of seven days the Word of the Lord came to me:

17 'Son of man, I have made you a WATCHMAN

For the House of Israel;

SO HEAR THE WORD I SPEAK

AND GIVE THEM WARNING FROM ME.

18 When I say to a Wicked man, 'You will surely Die,'

And you do not Warn him or speak out to Dissuade him

From his Evil Ways in order to save his life,

That Wicked man will Die for his Sin,

And I will hold you Accountable for his Blood.

19 Bit if you do Warn the Wicked man

And he does not Turn from his Wickedness

Or from his Evil Ways,

He will Die for his Sin;

But you will have Saved yourself.

20 'Again, when a Righteous man

Turns from his Righteousness and does Evil,

And I put a Stumbling Block before him, he will Die.

Since you did not Warn him he will Die for his Sin.

The Righteous things he did will not be remembered,

And I will hold you Accountable for his Blood.

21 But if you do Warn the Righteous man Not to Sin

And he does Not Sin, he will surely live

Because he took Waning,

And you will have Saved yourself.'

THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS UPON ME,

'GETUP AND GO OUT TO THE PLAIN,

AND THERE I WILL SPEAK TO YOU.'

23 So I got up and went out to the Plain,

And the Glory of the Lord was standing there,

Like the Glory I had seen by the Kebar River,

And I fell face down.

24 THEN THE SPIRIT CAME INTO ME

AND RAISE ME TO MY FEET.

He spoke to me and said”

'Go, shut yourself inside your house.

25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes;

You will be Bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth

So that you will be Silent and unable to Rebuke them,

Though they are a Rebellious House.

27 But when I speak to you,

I will open your mouth and you shall say to them,

'THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAYS.'

Whoever will listen let him listen,

And whoever will Refuse let him Refuse;

For they are a Rebellious House.

(Ezekiel 3)