< Ezekiel 3 >

1 And He says to me, “Son of man, eat that which you find, eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”
Moreover he said to me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.
2 And I open my mouth, and He causes me to eat this scroll.
So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And He says to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I am giving to you”; and I eat it, and it is as honey for sweetness in my mouth.
And he said to 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 says to me, “Son of man, go forth, go to the house of Israel, and you have spoken to them with My words.
And he said to me, Son of man, depart, go to the house of Israel, and speak with my words to them.
5 For you [are] not sent to a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue—to the house of Israel;
For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;
6 not to many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words you do not understand. If I had not sent you to them—they listen to you,
Not to many people of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened to thee.
7 but the house of Israel are not willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.
But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel [are] impudent and hard-hearted.
8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their face, and your forehead strong against their forehead.
Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As an adamant, harder than a rock, I have made your forehead; do not fear them, nor are you frightened before them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.”
As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [are] a rebellious house.
10 And He says to me, “Son of man, all My words that I speak to you, receive with your heart, and hear with your ears;
Moreover he said to me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thy ears.
11 and go forth, go to the expulsion, to the sons of your people, and you have spoken to them, and have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; whether they hear, or whether they refrain.”
And depart, go to them of the captivity, to the children of thy people, and speak to them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12 And a spirit lifts me up, and I hear a noise behind me, a great rushing—“Blessed [is] the glory of YHWH from His place!”
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 Even a noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and a noise of the wheels alongside them, even a noise of a great rushing.
[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 the noise of a great rushing.
14 And [the] Spirit has lifted me up, and takes me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of YHWH [is] strong on me.
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 And I come to the expulsion, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell [for] seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.
Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Kebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
16 And it comes to pass, at the end of seven days,
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17 that there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man, I have given you [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and you have heard a word from My mouth, and have warned them from Me.
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 In My saying to the wicked: You surely die; and you have not warned him, nor have spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he lives; he—the wicked—dies in his iniquity, and I require his blood from your hand.
When I say to 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 thy hand.
19 And you, because you have warned the wicked, and he has not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he dies in his iniquity, and you have delivered your soul.
Yet if thou shalt warn the wicked, and he shall not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he has done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dies; because you have not warned him, he dies in his sin, and his righteousness that he has done is not remembered, and I require his blood from your hand.
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 thy hand.
21 And you, because you have warned him—the righteous—that the righteous does not sin, and he has not sinned, he surely lives, because he has been warned; and you have delivered your soul.”
Nevertheless if thou shalt 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 there is a hand of YHWH on me there, and He says to me, “Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I speak with you.”
And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said to me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
23 And I rise and go forth to the valley, and behold, there the glory of YHWH is standing as the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.
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 Kebar: and I fell on my face.
24 And [the] Spirit comes into me, and causes me to stand on my feet, and He speaks with me, and says to me, “Go in, be shut up in the midst of your house.
Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said to me, Go, shut thyself within thy house.
25 And you, son of man, behold, they have put thick bands on you, and have bound you with them, and you do not go forth in their midst;
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 cause your tongue to cleave to your palate, and you have been mute, and are not for a reprover to them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.
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 And in My speaking with you, I open your mouth, and you have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; the hearer hears, and the refrainer refrains; for they [are] a house of rebellion.”
But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to 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.

< Ezekiel 3 >