Ezekiel 2

1 He said to me, “You human, stand up while I speak to you.”

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet; then I will speak to you.”

2 While he spoke to me, [God’s] Spirit entered me and enabled me to stand up. Then I heard him speak to me.

Then, as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said, “You human, I will send you to the Israeli people. They are people who have turned away from me and rebelled against me. Their ancestors rebelled against me, and they themselves are still rebelling against me.

He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to rebellious nations that have rebelled against me—both they and their ancestors have sinned against me up to this very day!

4 The people to whom I will send you are very stubborn [DOU]. But say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says to you.’

Their descendants have stubborn faces and hard hearts. I am sending you to them, and you will say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says.'

5 [when you tell them my messages], perhaps those rebellious people will heed those messages and perhaps they will not heed them, but they will know [you are] a prophet who has been among them.

Either they will listen or they will not listen. They are a rebellious house, but they will at least know that a prophet has been among them.

6 And you human, you must not be afraid of them or afraid of what they say. [Living among them will be like] living in the midst of briers or scorpions, but do not be afraid of them. They are rebellious people [MTY], but do not allow them to cause you to become afraid.

You, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, although you are with briers and thorns and although you live with scorpions. Do not fear their words or be dismayed by their faces, since they are a rebellious house.

7 Tell them my message, but do not expect them to pay attention to it, because they [very] rebellious.

But you will speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, because they are most rebellious.

8 But human, you must pay attention to what I say. Do not be rebellious like they are. [Now] open your mouth and eat what I give to you.”

But you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give to you!”

9 Then, as I watched, I saw his hand that was stretched toward me. In his hand was a scroll.

Then I looked, and a hand was extended out to me; in it was a written scroll.

10 He unrolled the scroll. On both sides of it were written words that expressed sorrow and mourning and words about trouble/disaster.

He spread it out before me; it had been written on both its front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning, and woe.