Ezekiel 3

1 And he said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; 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 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll which I give thee. And I ate, and it was 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 said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak 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 thou art not sent to a people of strange language, and of difficult speech, [but] to 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 to many peoples of strange language and of difficult speech, whose words thou canst not understand: had I sent thee to them, would they not 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 will not hearken unto thee, for none of them will hearken unto me. For all the house of Israel are hard of forehead and stiff of heart.

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 Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

Look! I'm going to make you as tough as them, and as strong-minded as them.

9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead. Fear them not, neither be dismayed at them, for they are a rebellious house.

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 said unto me, Son of man, all my words which I shall speak unto thee, receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears;

“Son of man,” he added, “pay close attention to everything I tell you, and think deeply about it yourself.

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 Jehovah, — whether they will hear or whether they will 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 the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing, [saying, ] Blessed be the glory 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 — and the sound of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound 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 the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

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 came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and I sat where they sat; and I sat there astonied among them seven days.

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 came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

After the seven days had passed, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

17 Son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning 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 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

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 But 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.

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 when a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and do what is wrong, 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 righteous acts which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

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 if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall certainly live, for he hath taken warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

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 the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the valley, and there I will talk 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 arose, and went forth into the valley, and behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell 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 the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spoke with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within 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, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee therewith, and thou shalt not go out among them.

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 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.

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 when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

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.”