Ezekiel 3
1 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, that which thou findest eat, eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.'
“Son of man,” he told me, “eat what you find placed before you. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the people of Israel.”
2 And I open my mouth, and He causeth me to eat this roll.
I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
“Son of man,” he said to me, “eat and fill yourself up with this scroll I'm giving you.” So I ate the scroll, and it tasted as sweet as honey.
4 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto them.
Then he told me, “Son of man, now you are to go to the people of Israel and give my message to them.
5 For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue [art] thou sent — unto the house of Israel;
I'm not sending you to those whose language is foreign to you, to people that you don't know—but to the people of Israel.
6 not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand. If I had not sent thee unto them — they, they do hearken unto thee,
As I say, I'm not sending you to those whose language is foreign to you, to people that you don't know, whose words you don't understand. On the other hand, if I had sent you to foreigners, they would have listened to you.
7 but the house of Israel are not willing to hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.
But the people of Israel won't want to listen to you, because they don't want to listen to me. All the Israelites are strong-minded and hard-hearted.
8 'Lo, I have made thy face strong against their face, and thy forehead strong against their forehead.
Look! I'm going to make you as tough as them, and as strong-minded as them.
9 As an adamant harder than a rock I have made thy forehead; thou dost not fear them, nor art thou affrighted before them, for a rebellious house [are] they.'
I will make your mind like adamant, harder than flint. Don't be afraid of what they say or discouraged by the way they look at you, even though they are a rebellious people.”
10 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, all My words, that I speak unto thee, receive with thy heart, and with thine ears hear;
“Son of man,” he added, “pay close attention to everything I tell you, and think deeply about it yourself.
11 and go, enter in unto the Removed, unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast spoken unto them, and hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: whether they hear, or whether they forbear.'
Go to your people who are in exile. Tell them this is what the Lord God says, whether they listen or not.”
12 And lift me up doth a spirit, and I hear behind me a noise, a great rushing — 'Blessed [is] the honour of Jehovah from His place!' —
The Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a really loud noise behind me that sounded like an earthquake. (Praise to the Lord's glory where he lives!)
13 even a noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and a noise of the wheels over-against them, even a noise of a great rushing.
It was the sound made by the wings of the beings as they brushed against each other and the noise made by the wheels next to them, a really loud noise that sounded like an earthquake.
14 And a spirit hath lifted me up, and doth take me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah on me [is] strong.
As I said, the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. As I went I was feeling upset and angry; however the Lord's power had taken full control of me.
15 And I come in unto the Removed, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.
I arrived at the place where the exiles lived, Tel-abib by the River Kebar. I just sat with them, staying with them there for seven days. I was completely overcome with emotion.
16 And it cometh to pass, at the end of seven days,
After the seven days had passed, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,
17 that there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast warned them from Me.
“Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Whenever I give you a message, then you must warn them for me.
18 In My saying to the wicked: Thou dost surely die; and thou hast not warned him, nor hast spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he doth live; he — the wicked — in his iniquity dieth, and his blood from thy hand I require.
For example, if I give a warning to someone who's wicked, saying, ‘You are going to die for sure,’ but you don't warn them, if you don't speak out to warn them to stop their wicked ways so they can go on living, then that wicked person will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their death.
19 And thou, because thou hast warned the wicked, and he hath not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he in his iniquity dieth, and thou thy soul hast delivered.
But if you warn them, and they don't stop their wicked ways, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself—you won't die.
20 'And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he hath done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dieth; because thou hast not warned him, in his sin he dieth, and not remembered is his righteousness that he hath done, and his blood from thy hand I require.
Again, if someone who lives right stops doing so and sins and disregards my attempts to correct them, then they will die. If you didn't warn them, they will die in their sins, and the good things they did won't be remembered. In addition, I will hold you responsible for their death.
21 And thou, because thou hast warned him — the righteous — that the righteous sin not, and he hath not sinned, he surely liveth, because he hath been warned; and thou thy soul hast delivered.'
However, if you warn those who are living right not to sin, and they don't sin, they will live for sure, because they paid attention to your warning, and you will have saved yourself—you won't die.”
22 And there is on me there a hand of Jehovah, and He saith to me, 'Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I do speak with thee.'
The Lord's power took control of me there, and he told me, “Get up! Go to the valley, and I will talk to you there.”
23 And I rise and go forth unto the valley, and lo, there the honour of Jehovah is standing as the honour that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.
So I got up and went to the valley, and there I saw the Lord's glory. It was like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown on the ground.
24 And come into me doth a spirit, and causeth me to stand on my feet, and He speaketh with me, and saith unto me, 'Go in, be shut up in the midst of thy house.
Then the Spirit came into me and made me stand upright. He told me, “Go into your house and shut the door.
25 'And thou, son of man, lo, they have put on thee thick bands, and have bound thee with them, and thou goest not forth in their midst;
You will be tied up with ropes, son of man. You will be bound so that won't be able to go out among the people.
26 and thy tongue I cause to cleave unto thy palate, and thou hast been dumb, and art not to them for a reprover, for a rebellious house [are] they.
I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. You won't be able to speak and complain to them, even though they are a rebellious people.
27 And in My speaking with thee, I do open thy mouth, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah; the hearer doth hear, and the forbearer doth forbear; for a rebellious house [are] they.
However, when I talk with you, I will open your mouth so you can tell them that this is what the Lord God says. Those who want to listen will listen, and those who want to refuse will refuse, for they are a rebellious people.”
