Ezekiel 3

1. And He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.”

2. So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

3. And He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was like honey for sweetness.

4. And He said to me, “Son of man, go! Go up to the house of Israel and speak to them with My words.

5. For you are not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a difficult language, but to the house of Israel;

6. Not to many people of a strange speech and of a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I had sent you to them, they would have hearkened to you.

7. But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken to you, for they will not be willing to hearken to Me; for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.

8. Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces and your forehead strong against their foreheads.

9. I have made your forehead as an adamant stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed by their faces, for they are a rebellious house.”

10. And He said to me, “Son of man, receive all My words which I shall speak to you. Receive them to your heart, and hear with your ears.

11. And go! Go to those of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD;’ whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.”

12. And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a sound of a great rushing, saying, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place.”

13. I also heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and the sound of the wheels along with them, and a sound of a great rushing.

14. So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

15. Then I came to the exiles at Tel Abib,who lived by the river Chebar. And I sat where they sat; and I also remained there astonished among them seven days.

16. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the Word of the LORD came to me, saying,

17. “Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me.

18. When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die;’ and you do not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked one shall die in his iniquity; but I will require his blood at your hand.

19. Yet if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

20. And when the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

21. But if you warn the righteous so that the righteous does not sin, and if he does not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned; also you have delivered your soul.”

22. And the hand of the LORD was on me there. And He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.”

23. Then I arose and went out into the plain; and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face.

24. And the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house!

25. But you, O son of man, behold, they shall put cords upon you and shall bind you with them, and you shall not go out among them.

26. And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and shall not be one who warns them. For they are a rebellious house.

27. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who stops his ears, let him stop his ears; for they are a rebellious house.