Ezekiel 3

NSB^{(i) 1} Jehovah said to me: »Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll. Then speak to the people of Israel.« ² I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. ³ He said: »Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you, and fill your stomach with it.« So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. ⁴ He then said to me: »Son of man, go to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. ⁵ »I am not sending you to people whose language is hard to understand or difficult to speak. I am sending you to Israel. ⁶ »I am not sending you to nations whose language is hard to understand, difficult to speak, or whose words you cannot understand. If I send you to those nations they will certainly listen to you. ⁷ »But the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me. All the people of Israel are very stubborn and hardheaded. ⁸ »Yet, I will make you as stubborn and as hardheaded as they are. ⁹ »I will make you as hard as a diamond, harder than flint stone. Do not be afraid of them. Do not be terrified in their presence, even though they are rebellious people.« ¹⁰ He also said: »Son of man, take to heart everything I have spoken to you, and listen closely. ¹¹ »Go to the exiles, to your people. Whether they listen or not, tell them: This is what the Lord Jehovah says.« ¹² Then the Spirit lifted me, and behind me I heard a loud thundering voice say: »Blessed is Jehovah’s glory from this place.« ¹³ I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another and the noise of the wheels beside them as well as a loud rumbling. ¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went away feeling bitter and angry. The strong power of Jehovah came over me. ¹⁵ I went to Tel Abib, to the exiles that lived by the Chebar River. I sat there among them for seven days. I was stunned among them. ¹⁶ After seven days Jehovah spoke his word to me: ¹⁷ »Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me. ¹⁸ »When I tell a wicked man that he will surely die, but you do not warn him or speak out so that he can change his wicked way in order to save his life; that wicked man will die because of his sin. I will hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹ »When you warn the wicked man, and he does not turn from his wicked way; he will die because of his sin, but you will save yourself. ²⁰ »If righteous people turn from living the right way and do wrong, I will make them stumble and they will die. If you do not warn them, they will die because of their sin. The right things they did will not be remembered. I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ²¹ »If you warn righteous people not to sin, and they do not sin, they will certainly live because they listened to the warning and you will save yourself.« ²² The power of Jehovah came over me. He said: »Get up, and go to the plain. I will speak to you there.« ²³ I got up and went to the plain. Jehovah’s glory was standing there like the glory I saw by the Chebar River. So I immediately bowed down. ²⁴ The Spirit entered me and stood me on my feet. He talked to me. He said: »Go shut yourself in your home. ²⁵ »People will tie you up with ropes, son of man, so that you cannot go outside. ²⁶ »I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you cannot talk or criticize them, even though they are rebellious people. ²⁷ »But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth. You will tell them: ‘This is what the Lord Jehovah says.’ Some will listen and some will refuse to listen for they are a rebellious people.