1The LORD said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel.’2So I opened my mouth. And he gave me the scroll to eat.3Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you. Fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it. And it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.4Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, go to the people of Israel. Give them my message.5I am not sending you to people who speak another language that is hard to learn. Instead, I am sending you to the people of Israel.6You are not being sent to many nations whose people speak other languages that are hard to learn. You would not be able to understand them. Suppose I had sent you to them. Then they certainly would have listened to you.7But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. All the Israelites are very stubborn.8But I will make you just as stubborn as they are.9I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me.’10He continued, ‘Son of man, listen carefully. Take to heart everything I tell you.11Go now to your own people who were brought here as prisoners. Speak to them. Tell them, “Here is what the LORD and King says.” Speak to them whether they listen or not.’12Then the Spirit of the LORD lifted me up. I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. The sound was made when the glory of the LORD rose up. It rose up from the place it had been standing.13The sound was made by the wings of the living creatures. They were brushing against one another. The sound was also made by the wheels beside them. It was a loud rumbling sound.14Then the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. My spirit was bitter. I was very angry. The power of the LORD was on me.15I came to my people who had been brought as prisoners to Tel Aviv. It was near the River Kebar. I went to where they were living. There I sat among them for seven days. I was very sad and scared about everything that had happened.
The Lord has appointed Ezekiel to warn Israel
16After seven days, a message from the LORD came to me.17The LORD said, ‘Son of man, I have appointed you as a prophet to warn the people of Israel. So listen to my message. Give them a warning from me.18Suppose I say to a sinful person, “You can be sure you will die.” And you do not warn them. You do not try to get them to change their evil ways in order to save their life. Then that sinful person will die because they have sinned. And I will hold you responsible for their death.19But suppose you do warn that sinful person. And they do not turn away from their sin or their evil ways. Then they will die because they have sinned. But you will have saved yourself.20‘Or suppose a godly person turns away from their godliness and does what is evil. And suppose I put something in their way that will trip them up. Then they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The godly things that person did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for their death.21But suppose you do warn a godly person not to sin. And they do not sin. Then you can be sure that they will live because they listened to your warning. And you will have saved yourself.’22The power of the LORD was on me. He said, ‘Get up. Go out to the plain. I will speak to you there.’23So I got up and went out to the plain. The glory of the LORD was standing there. It was just like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar. So I fell with my face towards the ground.24Then the Spirit of the LORD came into me. He raised me to my feet. He said to me, ‘Go, son of man. Shut yourself inside your house.25Some people will tie you up with ropes. So you will not be able to go out among your people.26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. Then you will be silent. You will not be able to correct them. That’s because they always refuse to obey me.27But later I will speak to you. I will open your mouth. Then you will tell them, “Here is what the LORD and King says.” Those who listen will listen. And those who refuse to listen will refuse. They always refuse to obey me.
Ezekiel 3
English Standard Version
1And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” (Eze 2:1; Eze 2:8)2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.3And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. (Ps 19:10; Ps 119:103; Jer 15:16; Re 10:9)4And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. (Eze 2:1)5For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—6not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. (Mt 11:21; Mt 11:23)7But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. (Eze 2:4; Joh 15:20)8Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. (Jer 1:18)9Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” (Isa 50:7; Eze 2:6)10Moreover, 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. (Jer 26:2; Eze 3:3)11And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” (Eze 2:7; Eze 3:27; Eze 33:2; Eze 33:12; Eze 33:17; Eze 33:30)12Then the Spirit[1] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice[2] of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” (Eze 1:24; Eze 8:3; Eze 11:1; Eze 11:24; Eze 37:1; Eze 43:5)13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. (Eze 1:5; Eze 1:15; Eze 1:24)14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. (Eze 1:3; Eze 8:3; Eze 11:1; Eze 11:24; Eze 37:1; Eze 43:5)15And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.[3] And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. (Ge 50:10; 1Sa 31:13; Job 2:13; Ps 137:1; Isa 52:14; Jer 14:9; La 2:10; Eze 1:1; Eze 4:17)
A Watchman for Israel
16And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: (Jer 42:7)17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. (2Ki 6:10; 2Ch 19:10; Isa 52:8; Isa 56:10; Jer 6:17; Eze 2:1; Eze 3:18; Eze 33:4; Eze 33:7; Heb 13:17)18If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for[4] his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Ge 2:17; Jer 31:30; Eze 3:17; Eze 3:20; Eze 18:13; Eze 18:18; Eze 33:6; Eze 33:8; Eze 34:10; Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24; Ac 18:6; Ac 20:26)19But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20; Eze 33:9; 1Ti 4:16)20Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Jer 6:21; Eze 3:17; Eze 3:18; Eze 18:24)21But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”22And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley,[5] and there I will speak with you.” (Ge 11:2; Eze 1:3; Eze 8:4; Eze 37:1; Ac 9:6; Ac 22:10)23So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. (Eze 1:1; Eze 1:28)24But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. (Eze 2:2)25And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. (Eze 4:8)26And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. (Isa 8:16; Eze 2:3)27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. (Eze 3:11; Eze 24:27; Eze 29:21; Re 22:11)