3 He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you can see in front of you. Eat this scroll with words on it. Then go and speak to the Israelites.’ 2 So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 He said, ‘Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Eat it all and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it. It had a sweet taste like honey in my mouth. [ a ]
4 Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, now go to Israel's people and speak my words to them. 5 I am not sending you to a people whose words you cannot understand. They do not speak a difficult language. No, I am sending you to Israel's people. 6 I am not sending you to people who speak many different languages that you cannot understand. If I did send you to people like that, I am sure that they would listen to you. 7 But Israel's people will not agree to listen to you. That is because they refuse to listen to me. All the Israelites have decided not to obey me, and they will not change. 8 But I will make you as strong in your mind as they are. You will not change what you think. 9 You will be as strong as the strongest stone that nobody can break. Do not be afraid of them. Do not be afraid of how they look at you. Remember that they are people who refuse to obey me.’
10 Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully to all the words that I say to you. Remember them. 11 Now you must go to the Israelites who are prisoners in Babylon. They are your own people. Give my message to them and say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” They may listen to you or they may refuse to listen. But you must still give them my message.’
12 Then a spirit lifted me up. [ b ] I heard a loud noise like thunder behind me. It was the sound of the Lord 's great glory as it rose up from its place! 13 I heard the sound of the living things' wings as they touched each other. I also heard the loud noise of the wheels that were at the side of the living things. It was like the noise of thunder. 14 Then a spirit lifted me up and he took me away. I was angry and upset in my mind. But the Lord gave me great power and strength. 15 I came to Tel Abib near the Kedar river, where the Israelite prisoners lived. I stayed with them for seven days. I was very upset as I sat among them.
16 When the seven days were finished, the Lord gave this message to me:
17 ‘Son of man, I have made you a guard to warn Israel's people about danger. You must listen to the messages that I will give to you. Then you must use my messages to warn the Israelites. 18 I may say to a wicked person, “Your punishment will be death.” Then you must warn that person. You must tell him to stop doing wicked things so that he may save his life. If you do not tell the wicked person this, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty, as if you had killed him yourself. 19 So you must warn the wicked person. If you warn him, he still may not stop doing wicked things. Then that wicked person will die because of his sins. But you will have saved your own life.
20 A righteous person may stop doing things that are right. He may start to do bad things. Then I will put him in danger. He will die as punishment for his sins. I will not remember the good things that he did. But if you have not warned him of the danger, I will say that you are guilty. It is as if you killed him yourself. 21 But if you do warn that righteous person to stop doing bad things, he may agree. Then he will continue to live, because you warned him. You also will have saved your own life.’
22 The Lord continued to give me strength. He said to me, ‘Stand up now! Go out into the valley and I will speak to you there.’ 23 So I got up and I went out to the valley. I saw the glory of the Lord in that place. It was like the glory that I had seen beside the Kebar river. I bent down low, with my face to the ground.
24 Then a spirit came into me. He lifted me up and he made me stand on my feet. The Lord said to me, ‘Go into your house and shut the door. 25 Son of man, people will tie you with ropes so that you cannot move. You will not be able to go out among the people. 26 I will also stop your tongue from moving so that you cannot speak. You will not be able to warn the Israelites. They are people who refuse to obey me. 27 But sometimes I will speak to you. Then you will be able to open your mouth and give them my message. You must tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” Some of them will listen to my message. But other people will refuse to listen. They are a nation of people who refuse to obey me.’ [ c ]
3 God said to me, “Son of man, [ a ] eat what you see. Eat this scroll, and then go tell these things to the family of Israel.”
2 So I opened my mouth and he put the scroll into my mouth. 3 Then God said, “Son of man, I am giving you this scroll. Swallow it! Let that scroll fill your body.”
So I ate the scroll. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 Then God said to me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel. Speak my words to them. 5 I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot understand. You don’t have to learn another language. I am sending you to the family of Israel. 6 I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages. 7 No, I am sending you to the family of Israel. Only, these people have hard heads—they are very stubborn! And the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don’t want to listen to me. 8 But I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard. 9 A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be afraid of them or those who always turn against me.”
10 Then God said to me, “Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and remember them. 11 Then go to all of your people in exile and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says ….’ They will not listen, and they will not stop sinning, but you must still tell them my message.”
12 Then the Spirit [ b ] lifted me up, and I heard a voice behind me. It was very loud, like thunder. It said, “Blessed is the Glory of the Lord !” 13 Then the wings of the living beings began moving. The wings made a very loud noise as they touched each other, and the wheels in front of them began making a noise as loud as thunder. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I was very sad and upset in my spirit, but I felt the Lord ’s power in me. 15 I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv [ c ] by the Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.
16 After seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 17 “Son of man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel. 18 If I say, ‘These evil people will die!’ Then you must warn them. You must tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil. If you don’t warn them, they will die because they sinned. But I will also make you responsible for their death, because you did not go to them and save their lives.
19 “If you warn them and tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil, but they refuse to listen, they will die because they sinned. But since you warned them, you will have saved your own life.
20 “If good people stop being good and begin to do evil, and I send something that makes them stumble and sin, they will die because they sinned. But since you did not warn them and remind them of the good things they had done, I will make you responsible for their death.
21 “But if you warn good people and tell them to stop sinning, and they listen to your warning and stop sinning, they will not die. In that way you will have saved your own life.”
22 The Lord ’s power came to me. He said to me, “Get up and go to the valley. [ d ] I will speak to you in that place.”
23 So I got up and went out to the valley. The Glory of the Lord was there—as I had seen it by the Kebar Canal. So I bowed with my face to the ground. 24 But the Spirit came into me and lifted me up on my feet. He said to me, “Go home and lock yourself in your house. 25 Son of man, people will come with ropes and tie you up. They will not let you go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth—you will not be able to talk. So they will not have anyone to teach them that they are doing wrong, because they are always turning against me. 27 But I will talk to you, and then I will allow you to speak. But you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ If a person wants to listen, fine. If a person refuses to listen, fine. But those people always turn against me.
3 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God ; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.
13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
22 And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ( A ) eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I ( B ) opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and ( C ) fill your [ a ] body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ( D ) ate it, and it was as sweet as ( E ) honey in my mouth.
4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, [ b ] go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For ( F ) you are not being sent to a people of [ c ] ( G ) unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, 6 nor to many peoples of [ d ] unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. [ e ] But I have sent you to [ f ] the people who understand you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are ( H ) not willing to listen to Me. The entire house of Israel certainly is [ g ] stubborn and obstinate. 8 Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, since they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My ( I ) words which I will speak to you and listen [ h ] closely. 11 [ i ] Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or [ j ] not, ‘This is what the Lord [ k ] God says.’”
12 Then the ( J ) Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great ( K ) rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place!” 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the ( L ) wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and ( M ) the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there for ( N ) seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.
16 Now ( O ) at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a ( P ) watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, ( Q ) warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his ( R ) blood I will require from your hand. 19 However if you have ( S ) warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have ( T ) saved yourself. 20 Again, ( U ) when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an ( V ) obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. 21 However, if you have ( W ) warned [ l ] the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”
22 Now the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will ( X ) speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the ( Y ) glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory that ( Z ) I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 But the ( AA ) Spirit entered me and set me up on my feet; and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And as for you, son of man, they will ( AB ) put ropes [ m ] around you and bind you with them so that you do not go out among them. 26 Moreover, ( AC ) I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be unable to speak and will not be a man who reprimands them, since they are a rebellious house. 27 But ( AD ) when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord [ n ] God says:’ The one who hears, let him hear; and the one who refuses, let him refuse; ( AE ) for they are a rebellious house.
3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate ( A ) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey ( B ) in my mouth.
4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. ( C ) 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, ( D ) but to the people of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ( E ) 7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen ( F ) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. ( G ) 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. ( H ) 9 I will make your forehead ( I ) like the hardest stone, harder than flint. ( J ) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. ( K ) ”
10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart ( L ) all the words I speak to you. 11 Go ( M ) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ ( N ) whether they listen or fail to listen. ( O ) ”
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, ( P ) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing. [ a ] 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures ( Q ) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. ( R ) 14 The Spirit ( S ) then lifted me up ( T ) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord ( U ) on me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. ( V ) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days ( W ) —deeply distressed.
16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ( X ) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman ( Y ) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. ( Z ) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die, ( AA ) ’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for [ b ] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ( AB ) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn ( AC ) from their wickedness ( AD ) or from their evil ways, they will die ( AE ) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. ( AF )
20 “Again, when a righteous person turns ( AG ) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block ( AH ) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ( AI ) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself. ( AJ ) ”
22 The hand of the Lord ( AK ) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go ( AL ) out to the plain, ( AM ) 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, ( AN ) and I fell facedown. ( AO )
24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me ( AP ) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ( AQ ) 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. ( AR ) 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof ( AS ) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. ( AT ) 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.’ ( AU ) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people. ( AV )
