Ezekiel 3

1 And he said to me, Son of man, take this roll for your food, and go and say my words to the children of Israel.

And he said to me, Son of Man, eat this volume, and go and speak to the children of Israel.

2 And, on my opening my mouth, he made me take the roll as food.

So he opened my mouth, and caused me to eat the volume. And he said to me, Son of man,

3 And he said to me, Son of man, let your stomach make a meal of it and let your inside be full of this roll which I am giving you. Then I took it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

thy mouth shall eat, and thy belly shall be filled with this volume that is given to thee. So I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, Son of man, go now to the children of Israel, and say my words to them.

And he said to me, Son of man, go thy way, and go in to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

5 For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel;

For thou art not sent to a people of hard speech, [but] to the house of Israel;

6 Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you.

neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words thou wouldest not understand: although if I [had] sent thee to such, they would have hearkened to thee.

7 But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart.

But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are stubborn and hard-hearted.

8 See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows.

And, behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen thy power against their power.

9 Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.

And it shall be continually stronger than a rock: be not afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their faces, because it is a provoking house.

10 Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I am about to say to you, and let your ears be open to them.

And he said to me, Son of man, receive into thine heart all the words that I have spoken to thee, and hear [them] with thine ears.

11 And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not.

And go thy way, go in to the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord; whether they will hear, [or] whether they will forbear.

12 Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place.

Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice [as] of a great earthquake, [saying], Blessed [be] the glory of the Lord from his place.

13 And there was the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels at their side, the sound of a great rushing.

And I perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures clapping one to the other, and the sound of the wheels was near them, and the sound of the earthquake.

14 And the wind, lifting me up, took me away: and I went in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.

And the Spirit lifted me, and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was mighty upon me.

15 Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.

Then I passed through the air and came into the captivity, and went round [to] them that dwelt by the river of Chobar who were there; and I sat there seven days, conversant in the midst of them.

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And after the seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man,

17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger.

I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear a word of my mouth, and shalt threaten them from me.

18 When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou hast not warned him, to give warning to the wicked, to turn from his ways, that he should live; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

19 But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe.

But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, and thou shalt deliver thy soul.

20 Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

And when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits a trespass, and I shall bring punishment before him, he shall die, because thou didst not warn him: he shall even die in his sins, because his righteousness shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21 But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

But if thou warn the righteous not to sin, and he sin not, the righteous shall surely live, because thou hast warned him; and thou shalt deliver thine own soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord was on me there; and he said, Get up and go out into the valley and there I will have talk with you.

And the hand of the Lord came upon me; and he said to me, Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shalt thou be spoken to.

23 Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.

And I arose, and went forth to the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, according to the vision, and according to the glory of the Lord, which I saw by the river of Chobar: and I fell on my face.

24 Then the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and he had talk with me and said to me, Go and keep yourself shut up inside your house.

Then the Spirit came upon me, and set me on my feet, and spoke to me, and said to me, Go in, and shut thyself up in the midst of thine house.

25 But see, O son of man, I will put bands on you, prisoning you in them, and you will not go out among them:

And thou, son of man, behold, bonds are prepared for thee, and they shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not come forth of the midst of them.

26 And I will make your tongue fixed to the roof of your mouth, so that you have no voice and may not make protests to them: for they are an uncontrolled people.

Also I will bind thy tongue, and thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: because it is a provoking house.

27 But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.

But when I speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, He that hears, let him hear; and he that is disobedient, let him be disobedient: because it is a provoking house.